Getting Greener
by CheeseJellyBean
Summary: Set after 'Things Change.' Beastboy reacts to Terra's rejection by doing something drastic, dangerous and destiny-deciding. His decision sets off a chain reaction of events that sends him on a adventure of action, romance, drama, comedy and self-discovery. But he's not the only one on the team to change...
1. Pieces

**Getting Greener**

Chapter One: Pieces

"Beastboy to Robin, I'm on my way. Over."

The green changeling lowered his communicator and took one last look down the now crowded hall with confused, pain filled eyes, making out a flash of blonde among the students. Almost stumbling in his haste to leave, he turned and sprinted down the hallway towards the light of day.

All he wanted to do was escape the agony.

He had never thought that 'heartbreak' could be so physical an experience, it felt like a great white had clamped ice cold jaws around his chest. Beastboy squinted his eyes, trying to block out the pain and focused solely on running.

Bursting out into the sunlight, he quickly crossed over to the fence of the school, vaulting over it in one smooth motion and hit the ground running. But he couldn't outrun himself.

All he could see were her baby blue eyes, wide and shining, rejecting him.

All he could smell was her earthy scent, growing fainter as his feet blindly moved.

All he could hear was her wicked words, _'Just leave me alone!'_

All he could taste was his failure, bitter on the tip of his tongue.

All he could feel was pain, his heart pumping it through his body like venom, spreading over his chest to his extremities. The pain of betrayal, rejection, shame but most of all… Failure and guilt.

Beastboy's foot suddenly caught and he was thrown face first onto the cold, hard asphalt of a thankfully empty road, his natural agility and poise nowhere to be found. Hot tears ran down his cheeks as the emotional anguish inside finally became too much for him and manifested itself into the trickles of water flowing freely from his eyes as he gasped for breath.

God, it hurt.

The knowledge that it was his fault Terra had ever left for Slade in the first place. That he had been unable to save her at the end.

He had failed. Just like he always did…

"No," he gasped between sobs, "Not that."

The memories were threatening to surface, everything he had worked so hard to bury was being dug up.

Beastboy was suddenly afraid.

He needed to escape, needed to smother the growing agony in his chest and still the tide of guilt threatening to drown him. But how? How could he outrun himself? He was only human…

Beastboy's eyes widened as the thought slowly came to him, before he outright dismissed it. Then the image of a bloody Terra standing above poised to deliver his death blow came before him and he broke down sobbing again in the street, the torturous blame he placed on himself slowly suffocating him. Self-hatred gripped his mind.

He needed escape, release from this suffering. It felt like it would kill him otherwise.

Instinct kicked in.

He was in pain. He needed out. So Beastboy did something he had never done before.

He sought out his animal side, traversed the span of his spirit and gave himself over to that which he actively restrained: his inner beast.

A change started to come about Beastboy as he contorted and tensed on the cold asphalt, like a rubber band starting to stretch. It was a slow development and as much an emotional transformation as a physical one. As his fingernails lengthened into talons, his emotions seemed to dim. As his hair rapidly grew down his enlarging back, individual thoughts melded together to form general urges. As his teeth grew to fangs and muscles exploded outwards, his emotional pain and turmoil dulled and started to give way to the impulses of an animal.

Throwing its head back the creature screamed an ear-splitting roar at the sky, seeming to both curse and bless the very heavens for its existence.

* * *

Robin gasped for breath as he watched the white monstrosity take punch after punch from Cyborg on the main floor of the recycling factory, knowing it would do no good. They had been at this for the better part of an hour, though it felt like much longer.

Nothing seemed to work.

No amount of exploding discs, fiery starbolts, sonic cannon bursts or demonic energy blasts hurt it. Even freezing it hadn't worked as it had seemed to melt inside the block of ice, only to slid under the edge and reform, unharmed. As the monster dodged one of Cyborgs powerful right hooks and responded with one of it's own that sent the metallic titan flying, Robin felt fear grow in his chest.

He had tried contacting Beastboy just a moment ago, but received no answer. He had no time to time to worry about him though; Robin was too busy trying to survive. With a curse, he analysed the situation, deciding that one last full on assault was their best chance of winning. If they could put it out of action, at least temporarily, it would give them time to retreat at least.

"Titans, surround it!" He called out.

The team was quick to respond, Raven landing opposite him, Starfire to his right and Cyborg jumping with grunt to his left. Robin made sure to make eye contact with each of them, sending an inaudible message. This was it.

"Alright guys, on the count of three…" Robins voice was steady but weariness could be heard in his tone. The titans tensed, cyborg's cannon powering up, Starfire's hands glowing green and Raven's eyes turning bright white.

"One…"

'BOOM!'

The four titans and even the monster flinched at the sudden explosion of sound, spinning around to face the wall from which it came. Bricks rained down around a massive dust cloud that blossomed in front of a newly formed hole in the wall. The last of the days light poured in refracting off of the airborne particles of dust, obscuring whatever was held within.

Lifting an arm to her forehead, Raven peered through the dense cloud to see the outline of a large figure silhouetted against the light behind it. Brief confusion faded to understanding as the shape shrunk down into a smaller form crouched close to the ground, still shrouded by dust.

'_He sure loves to make an entrance,'_ she thought to herself suppressing the urge to roll her eyes. _'But then again, demolishing a wall isn't really his style,'_ she frowned, the first seeds of concern taking root in her. As the smoke cleared, her eyes widened, her mouth opened and concern turned very quickly into astonishment.

Crouching on his haunches, leaning forwards with his hands on the ground in front of him and snarling viciously, was Beastboy.

Emphasis on '_Beast_.'

He was taller, even crouching down his head looked to be about even with Raven's chest. He appeared to have burst out of his uniform, the top half hung in tatters over his torso which seemed to have doubled in size and the bottom half strained to contain the new bulk of his leg muscles. His fingernails had lengthened into talons and his feet had burst out of his shoes also bearing brand new, razor sharp claws. Veins popped out over his jade skin and tendons stood out sharply. She saw a thin line of short, very dark green fur run up his forearm onto his back.

But of all the new physical changes to him, the most dramatic one was his face. Beastboy's ragged, dark green hair now sprouted down to his shoulders, just the tips of his pointed ears visible. His lips were pulled back in a snarl, revealing fangs that looked to be serrated. As Raven's visual sweep ended on Beastboy's eyes, her breath caught, her hand flew to her mouth and astonishment gave way to something new – fear.

The wide, innocent, dark green eyes of her skinny teammate were gone. And in their place were the eyes of…

"The Beast," Raven whispered into her hand.

Vertical slit-like pupils of pitch black were framed by a vivid green that seemed to glow. They were feral, animal eyes. Intense with instinct. Bright with single-mindedness, but appearing to hold intelligence; all focused solely on the white monster, who stared back unmoving.

Raven was confused; he had the eyes of the Beast, but not the body of it. He appeared to be somewhere in between. '_How did that happen? And why?'_

She had no time to ponder it however, as a low, guttural growl came from Beastboy, his throat vibrating and body tensing. His feet crushed small pieces of brick into powder as he lowered himself into what Raven thought looked like the hunting stance of a wolf.

Then he was nothing but a green blur, accelerating to sixty mph in under three seconds as a cheetah before leaping towards the white monster. The jade shape grew in size mid-air as Beastboy's form flowed into the shape of a silverback gorilla, which spun in the air before delivering a crushing airborne spinning backhand to the chest of the creature.

The shockwave of the strike was felt by all the titans as they watched, astonished, as the monster flew backwards passing through the far brick wall behind it like it was cardboard before disappearing from sight.

After delivering his strike, Beastboy reverted to his original state, sliding several meters before coming to a halt on the cement floor, back in the hunting stance he had started in. With a snarl, he leapt forwards, running on all fours, following the creature through the second newly created hole in the recycling plant.

Silence reigned for a moment in the room as each wide eyed titan processed what had just happened in the past ten seconds. It was Raven who snapped out of her stupor first. "After him!" she yelled, a faint touch of fear in her normally emotionless voice, and flew at full speed out the hole created by the monster. The other titans reacted quickly, sprinting or flying after her.

Raven quickly rose through the air, trying to find Beastboy or the monster. The recycling plant sat atop a tall hill which was surrounded by forest. Racing down the hill towards the trees, hard to make out against the green grass, was Beastboy, already some distance away. Glancing towards where he was headed, Raven saw a solid pine tree collapse to the ground, half its trunk destroyed. She guessed that was where the monster had smashed into the tree line.

'_Damn, that was some hit,'_ she thought to herself, shaking her head, before dashing after Beastboy.

* * *

Leaping over the recently felled tree, Beastboy followed the trail of damage, dodging around fallen trees and hurdling over broken branches before his sharp, animal eyes spotted a glimpse of white against the foliage ahead. Slowing down, he stalked towards it, feet and hands making no noise on the forest floor as he made his way slowly forward, senses on high alert and nose sniffing.

It smelled…unnatural. Of chemicals and man-made materials.

The bleached monster raised itself to one knee and then used his hands to push the rest of itself off of the ground. In response, Beastboy flattened himself to floor, morphing quickly into an emerald snake and blending seamlessly into the grass around him, lying perfectly still. He watched with sharp eyes as the monster turned revealing a gaping cavity where his chest had been.

Without any discernible effort, the monster's entire torso flowed like water restoring the creature body to its original size and shape. Satisfied, it turned and started running in the opposite direction to the plant, unaware that it was being stalked.

One moment a hare, the next a crow, Beastboy was running solely on animal instinct as he camouflaged his pursuit from the monster while observing it closely, waiting for the moment to strike.

Morphing in mid-air from a fox to an owl, he quickly sped ahead of the monster about a hundred feet, before transforming into a rabbit and landing softly in a clump of flowers, only his still vivid green eyes visible. The trees were thinner here, allowing him to watch as the monster sprinted quickly towards him. Beastboy bided his time, waiting until the creature was only ten feet away before making his move.

With a powerful push of his hind legs, Beastboy shot his small frame forward into the air. The monster had no time to react as the green rabbit quickly expanded into a 3 ton, 4 meter long rhinoceros, head lowered.

The two collided explosively.

The monster was smashed backwards with tremendous force before crashing into the trunk of a thick oak tree with an almighty crack; it's arms and legs wrapping unnaturally around it, before collapsing to the ground. With a creak and a groan, the oak slowly fell with a load cracking sound, splitting where the monster had impacted it.

Beastboy landed softly on his hands and feet, again in his original form, crouching low to ground with a snarl in the back of his throat.

The creature raised itself unsteadily to its feet once again, turning to face Beastboy who observed a horn shaped hole through the centre of its chest, giving him a view of the forest behind the monster.

Again, however, the creature's body rippled like water and the gap in its torso closed over once again. Beastboy's eyed narrowed in anger at the unnatural sight, prompting him into action. The monster tensed as Beastboy charged towards him on all fours, and pulled back a fist as the changeling leapt towards him, morphing into a tiger just before he jumped. The monster swung his arm around in a lethal haymaker catching the big cat directly in the chest.

Only it wasn't there anymore.

The monster looked around in confusion. Where was it?

It turned in full circle, eyes scanning the forest before it registered a sharp pain inside itself, somewhere above its stomach.

Little did it know that Beastboy had transformed the instant before the fist had hit him, changing into an animal known as the hookworm: a small, worm–like parasite with the unique ability to tunnel through skin. After landing on the creature's abdomen, Beastboy had burrowed into it's flesh and was now at the centre of it's body.

Perfect.

The monster exploded outwards as a full grown killer whale formed in a fraction of a second inside of it. A disgusting squelch accompanied the eruption of white flesh, which coated several trees. The whale shrunk down in size as Beastboy adopted his returned to his half-beast state, only this time parts of him were covered in snow coloured slime.

A final snarl left his lips as he turned and start to stalk away on all fours.

Then he stopped dead, ears twitching.

With a soft squelch the white matter slid off Beastboy's back, pulling itself towards where the rest of the monster's flesh was congregating. Beastboy spun around, back in his hunting stance as the monster slowly reformed itself. A growl grated in his throat as the monster fully reformed, albeit sagging down on one knee.

He once again charged at the monster, which responded by whipping his arms backwards before throwing them forward at Beastboy, his limbs lengthening dramatically. The green titan reacted quickly, transforming to a hummingbird to avoid the first arm and managing to duck under the second. He quickly turned to a huge gray wolf and hit the ground running before leaping up at the monster, teeth bared; going for the jugular. However, when he was mere inches away from the creature's neck, a third arm burst from its chest, the large fist colliding violently with the side of Beastboy's face with a sickening thud.

The changeling was thrown back by the force of the punch, spinning through the air before crashing into the base of a tree.

The arms of the monster retracted and it stood observing the green being before it with expressionless eyes. It watched unmoving, as Beastboy raised himself of the ground onto all fours, turning around to face him. If the white monster was capable of emotion, it would have experienced an intense fear at what he saw and most likely fled.

Beastboy's animal eyes were wide and excited with violent bloodlust, a cut on his cheek bleeding slightly over a rapidly purpling bruise. He turned his head and spat out a mouthful of scarlet blood, contrasting sharply with the blinding white of his fangs and the light jade of his skin. There was a soft splash as the liquid impacted the grassy ground. His eyes lit up at the sight and Beastboy turned back to monster with a savage grin on his face.

With a thrilled snarl, he leapt for the monster again.

He was going to enjoy this.

* * *

So, first chapter of my first fic.  
Please comment - would really appreciate any feedback, criticism, observations or remarks. Feel free to flame.  
What did you like? What didn't you like?  
Thanks for checking it out.  
CJB


	2. End Credits

Chapter 2: End Credits

"Raven, wait!" Robin's voice floated towards her as she started towards the forest to follow Beastboy.

"What?!" she hissed back at him, concern and worry turning to anger and colouring her usually monotone voice.

"He's dangerous," said Robin, running up to her limping on one leg. "You remember what he was like last time. He could kill you!"

Several trees became encased in black energy and were slowly crushed behind her as Raven's eyes flared red in anger. "You know as well as I do that I was never in any danger. Well, he is now and I intend to help him!" With that she turned and soared towards the forest.

"Be careful!" Robin yelled after her, trying to maintain some semblance of control of the situation. He sighed in annoyance and turned to his two fellow titans. Both Star and Cyborg were looking at him in a way he didn't particularly like. "Fine, let's go," he conceded and started running after Raven, the other two following close behind.

* * *

Beastboy was not hard to find.

The sound of cracking branches, pained roars and impacts of flesh on flesh led her like a map towards the battle, as Raven dodged through the trees at high speed.

As she got nearer to the din, however, she slowed. Beastboy was not in his right mind at the moment. She had no idea what state of mind he was in, but it would not be wise to surprise him. His physical appearance seemed to fall in between his usual state of being and The Beast. It would make sense that his mind was in the same place. Raven frowned unwardly, unsure of what that meant for him as she floated slowly towards the racket, looking for any sign of the two combatants.

She didn't have to try hard.

Beastboy crashed through a heavy bush ahead and to the left of Raven, a white tentacle around his neck, before slamming solidly into a tree with an awful cracking sound. Raven flinched, unsure if the sound came from him or the tree.

She watched, mouth open, as an inhuman snarl ripped from his throat, claws scrabbling at the bleached flesh around his neck. Raven's eyes immediately grew white and onyx light surrounded her raised hands as she prepared to help her team mate. But before she could do anything, Beastboy morphed into a beetle, fell through the tentacle's grasp to the ground, then transformed into a lion and bounded forward back to the fight, the white limb following after.

Raven flew after him, stopping when she saw the two fighting in the centre of a new clearing, cracked trees on the ground and grass and earth torn up.

Beastboy was dancing around the white creature, flowing from form to form, dodging the many punches of the monster from its many arms. Only his eyes stayed the same as his body morphed seamlessly from shape to shape. He eventually wound up underneath the monster in the form of a turtle and quickly transformed into a kangaroo. Laying on his back, he shot both his powerful legs forwards like pistons and hammered the monster in the stomach sending it flying backwards into another tree. He then changed back into himself, and Raven gasped.

He was in bad shape.

All his clothes but his dark green boxers were gone giving the impression of nudity and his bulging body was covered in cuts, newly forming bruises and worse. He was on all fours as before, but had one arm wrapped around his lower torso. Raven could see blood dripping around his arm as he held himself tightly. His face wasn't much better. Blood flowed from a bad laceration on his cheek and his nose appeared to be broken.

But the worst part was his expression. The gleeful bloodlust was still in his eyes and his bloody mouth was twisted into a snarling grin revealing his jagged fangs, some of which appeared to be missing. He was taking a feral thrill in his survival of the fittest duel. All his attention was fixed on the monster, he had yet to notice Raven.

It terrified her to see him this way. She was used to the cheerful, kind, easy going idiot that wouldn't hurt a fly. Not the inhuman death machine in front of her. She remembered her last experience with The Beast and how damaged Beastboy had been after the whole event.

Raven realised something as Beastboy charged the monster again.

She was scared for him.

"BEASTBOY!"

Raven's frightened call stopped the changeling in his tracks. His head snapped around and his animal eyes focused on Ravens. Staring into her amethyst eyes, he saw concern and anguish and for some reason, it calmed him down. Beastboy's head cocked to the side like a confused cat's as he thought he saw a glimpse of some other emotion deep in Raven's eyes. Something primal. Something like…

WHAM!

Beastboy flew straight up into the air from the force of the astonishingly powerful uppercut the monster had just delivered to the bottom of his chin. He disappeared through the canopy of branches above him.

Raven stood stock still, mouth wide open and eyes wider still. Shocked at what she had just been responsible for, she sank to her knees. Her still wide eyes moistened as tears filled the rims. The monster's attention turned to her. Defenceless, shocked; she would make for an easy kill. The monster stepped towards her and Raven opened her mouth.

* * *

Beastboy blinked as consciousness returned to him.

Cool air was rushing past his face as he flew silently upwards; stunned by the incredible hit he had just taken. His cheekbone felt broken, his jaw dislocated and his neck fractured. As he reached the pinnacle of his height, some 150 feet, he heard it.

A scream.

Beastboy's eyes snapped downwards, his body already transforming. As his arms grew shorter into wings and his legs retracted, one thought dominated both sides of his mind.

'_Protect.'_

The green peregrine falcon soared downwards, its sharp eyes picked out a splash of white far below and it adjusted its flight path accordingly. It quickly reached speeds over 200mph as it sped towards the ground, eyes fixed on its target, one thought in it's head.

* * *

Raven watched, horrified, as the creature came nearer. She had not meant to scream. She was Raven. She did not scream. But the shock of seeing the animalistic Beastboy so punished had unhinged her slightly.

Eyes still watering, she clenched her fists and stood up, determined to annihilate the monster that might have killed her teammate. She adopted a fighting stance, dark energy forming around her fists and glowing white eyes focused on the monstrosity a mere 15 feet from her. Body tensed. Ready to fight.

Then the world exploded.

Raven caught a glimpse of green, before she was forced to close her eyes against the explosion of air in front of her. The wind, coupled with the vibrating ground, caused her to fall over backwards.

After a second, she opened her eyes to a scene of devastation before her.

A crater, ten feet across and at least five deep, dominated the scene. It was surrounded by levelled trees, all of which were covered in white flesh. At the centre of the stood a green African bush elephant, it's feet covered with the white matter. She watched in shock as it slowly collapsed onto it's side with a crash, raising a cloud of dust into the air, before shrinking down in size.

The noise prompted raven to action. Getting to her feet, she sprinted down into the crater, seeing Beastboy in his half-Beast form, his larger than usual body making him easy to spot.

"Beastboy!" she exclaimed breathlessly, falling to her knees beside his prone form, any revulsion she may have initially felt towards his new physical appearance disappearing in her concern. His back two legs were twisted in unnatural angles, severely broken and his chest was covered in lacerations. She knew quite a few ribs had to be broken or cracked as well.

But he was breathing.

Raven sighed in relief and went to place her hands on his torso to heal him. But then she noticed a deep cut on his stomach, the one he had been clutching earlier. It had stopped bleeding and closed up.

She dismissed it and summoned her powers, hands glowing inches above his still body as she closed her eyes and extended her senses towards and psychically examined him.

Thankfully, it appeared that he had suffered no serious internal injury. His recently enlarged bones had apparently grown denser and had been able to absorb most of the impact, protecting his vital organs. Raven opened her eyes and looked down at the changeling. His bestial face was pressed to the ground, hiding itself from her. Looking down his body, she gagged at the sight of his legs.  
Both femurs were obviously completely snapped, one snow white piece actually protruding from the middle of his thigh.

Raven gritted her teeth in preparation for the healing and closed her eyes, letting power flow from her into the unconscious boy before her. She felt out the broken leg bones and poured energy into the snapped ends, readying them for reattachment to each other. Luckily they both appeared to be clean breaks and thirty seconds later, she had done all she could.

Opening her eyes and taking a calming breath, Raven looked towards Beastboys head. He was still completely out. She just hoped he would stay that way for the next part.

Mustering her powers once again, Raven encased all four pieces of bone in onyx energy and took a deep breath. Moving her arms and hands in one fluid motion she forced the bones to realign with each other. The manoeuvre was performed neater and faster than the world's best surgeon could have done. But that didn't stop it from hurting.

Beastboy's head suddenly twisted around and he snapped at her hands, eyes still wild and feral and high pitched, aggressive whines of pain in his throat. Surprised, Raven fell backwards and crawled away from the feral titan on instinct, eyes never leaving his.

With a grunt, Beastboy lifted his body off the ground, supporting himself mainly on his hands, as his legs were in that much pain. He turned to her with a growl.

Raven didn't know what to do. He was clearly in pain, but was also still partly The Beast. And the way he was looking at her made feel a faint prickling of fear in her chest. She stayed still, trying to fight down the growing panic within her. She knew she could never fight Beastboy, but if she had to she could restrain him. But inside, she still had faith he would not attack, remembering how even when he was full beast, he had fought to protect her.

That faith took a dive when Beastboy morphed into a thick, 3 meter long, dark green snake with diagonal markings along his back. He slowly made his way towards her, his long body swishing silently through the dirt of the crater, getting closer by the second.

Raven sat still, hypnotised by the movement of the snake. She knew she should run, but couldn't bring herself to move. She watched as he raised himself up to her eye level, the rest of his body curled beneath him.

For a moment, all was still in the recently made glade. Raven felt her heart rate speed up. Sweat dampened the palms of her hands. Irises widened. Breathing hitched.

Then things happened very quickly.

Beastboy struck, moving forward unbelievably fast. Raven had time to take in a breath before her eyes followed the jade serpent as it passed by her right cheek, fangs bared. Raven's head snapped around to find it hanging on by its mouth to the arm of the white monster, which had reformed as Raven's attention was on Beastboy.

She watched, fascinated, as the snake circled up the monster's arm and down around its body, biting all the time as the monster tried to get a hold of it. After a few moments, it finally managed to get a grip on the snake and tore it from its body before throwing it across to the other side of the crater. As it hit the ground, the snake morphed back into Beastboy who rolled on the ground and came up in his hunting crouch.

Or at least he tried to.

Beastboy's legs gave out under him and he collapsed to the ground again, helpless as the monster took a step towards Raven.

Raven, however, was far from defenceless. Cursing herself for doubting Beastboy, she stood up straight and tall, eyes turning white with power and she assumed her combat stance.

'_This time, I protect you.'_ She thought, glancing over her shoulder at Beastboy's broken form.

She turned back to face the monster, onyx energy surrounding her hands as she prepared to fight. But for the second time in so many minutes, she didn't have to.

The monster tried to take another step towards her but sunk down to one knee instead. Lifting it's hand up in front of its head, it's metallic eyes narrowed in confusion.

It appeared to be melting.

The Inland Taipan snake possesses the most lethal venom of any serpent on the planet. Beastboy had managed to inject over a gram of its neurotoxin into the body of the monster and it appeared that it did not mix well with the chemical makeup of its artificial flesh.

Raven watched in awe as the monster literally melted before her eyes, its eyes screaming soundlessly. After a few seconds it was nothing but a white puddle, slowly soaking into the dirt.

Satisfied it was no longer a threat, Raven turned to give her attention to Beastboy.

Only to find that he was gone.

It was at that moment that Robin, Cyborg and Starfire ran into the clearing, slowing to a stop when they saw Raven standing alone.

"What the hell happened Raven?" Cyborg exclaimed eyes widening at the devastation around them.

Raven blinked tears she didn't know she had shed out of her eyes. Taking a deep breath and adopting her trademark blank expression she turned to her fellow titans.

"Beastboy defeated it, that's what's left," she said, pointing to the pile of white glop on the ground. She continued as Cyborg ran over to the substance and started to scan it. "He's injured, but managed to run off. I think he's healing much faster than usual. Beastboy is still how you all saw him earlier. I don't know what's wrong with him." She said, her eyes drifting to the ground. "But I'll find him now."

Closing her eyes, Raven extended a psychic probe over the surrounding forest. Not finding anything but squirrels and birds, she extended her field of vision. Cyborg, meanwhile had finished analysing a sample of the monster. The results flashed up on his arm monitor.

"Robin, have a look at this," he said as Robin hurried over. "The chemical makeup is uniquely complex; this is ridiculously advanced stuff. There does appear to be one foreign component though, snake venom and a potent one."

Robin blinked, impressed. He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by Raven as her eyes snapped open.

"This way," she declared before flying off, the other three hot on her trail.

* * *

I've actually got quite a lot of this planned out. Just a matter of writing it now!  
If you've any questions, concerns or ideas, feel free to drop a comment.  
Thanks,  
CJB


	3. Alive

Chapter Three: Alive

Beastboy was running.

He had no idea how he was able to run. The pain in his body was great, but his muscles worked, his bones seemed to be whole and his blood replenished. He was capable of running.

So he ran.

It was what he had been doing before he had begun fighting that damned monster and so it was what he was doing now. He didn't really know why he was running but it felt like the thing to do, so he did.

"_Why the hell am I running?"_ He thought.

Then it hit him. That was the first conscious thought he had had in ages. Beastboy slid to a stop in the middle of a clearing, the claws on his hands digging into the soft ground.

"_And since when do I have claws?"_ Beastboy wondered, sitting back on his haunches to examine the new additions to his hands.

"_Where am I anyway_?"

Up until now, he had had one goal: defeat the monster. All his attention had been focused on that objective and now without it, he was lost. Beastboy raised his eyes to the sky, noticing it was evening and getting dark.

A rustle of leaves came from behind him and new scents filled his nose. Spinning around, Beastboy growled at the emerging figures, four in all.

Raven moved slowly out of the trees towards the tensed Beastboy; Starfire, Robin and Cyborg following behind. She frowned as Beastboy's hackles went up, becoming even more hostile as the rest of the team joined Raven in the clearing, all of them shocked at seeing him close up for the first time along with being covered in his own blood.

'_What's going on in his head?'_ Raven wondered.

* * *

Beastboy was confused. And confused animals are dangerous.

He did not ease up out of his combat stance but cocked his head to the side like an dog as his feral eyes scanned the new arrivals and his nose sniffed the air, trying to determine whether they were a threat or not. Right now they were just standing there, staring at him. It made him nervous but some deeply imbedded knowledge came to his mind: they weren't dangerous. Better yet, he recognised their scent and appearance.

They were his pack. They would never hurt him.

But Beastboy was exhausted and in pain, not willing to take chances. With a final growl of warning, he turned his back on them and started away on all fours. He heard a twig snap behind him as Starfire stepped forward.

He spun around with a threatening snarl, his body language clear: leave me alone. Three titans took a frightened step back. One stood firm.

"Beastboy," Raven called, her voice soft.

His eyes snapped to hers and stayed there.

"It's okay. We're here." Her voice seemed to sooth him, the hairs on his back relaxing from their upright position and his body seemed to relax.

"Yes friend Beastboy, there is no need to fear." Beastboy's eyes leapt to Starfire's as her familiar voice washed over him. He did not notice, but his claws started to retract ever so slowly. He turned his head to Cyborg and Robin as they attempted to calm him as well.

"Hey man, it's all good. We gotcha." H

"Relax Beastboy, it's just us."

He was gradually shrinking in size as his humanity began overpowering his animal side, his hair receding into his head sluggishly and his fangs shortening, bit by bit returning him to his most human form.

Robin turned and whispered to Cyborg, thinking the situation was in hand, saying "Do you think this had something to do with Terra?"

Beastboy's animal ears picked out one word and his partially reacquired humanity was suddenly confronted with the very thing that had forced the change in the first place.

Terra.

Beastboy flinched backwards as if struck, eyes widening as the emotional pain he had escaped from as a beast returned, more potent than ever. Tears forced themselves from his eyes as he fell to his knees clutching his head in his hands, desiring nothing else but escape from the pain of guilt and failure.

At least he knew how.

Throwing his head back, he screamed at the sky, as his body began to shift once again to his animalistic form. Talons sprouted, claws lengthened, muscles expanded, hair extended and eyes twisted into those of The Beast.

The titans were stunned. Watching the rapid degradation of his behaviour and the swift transformation back into his previous form, along with the obvious pain Beastboy was in left them shocked. Tears fell from Starfire's eyes as she observed Beastboy's howls of agony, wanting to help, but at the same time afraid of the creature in front of her. Cyborg had never seen his friend like this. When he was The Beast, he had been violent yes, but he hadn't displayed any of the emotional turmoil and anguish he was now. It shocked him that his best friend could have held so much misery and torment inside him with him knowing. Robin was trying to suppress a wave of guilt rising up in him. He had been dead on. It did have something to do with Terra, Beastboy's reaction to the name was evidence enough of that. And he had just gone and inadvertently reminded Beastboy of whatever it was that triggered this to start with.

Being an empath, Raven was experiencing the general emotional atmosphere and was overcome by the sheer amount of emotional anguish coming from Beastboy. She felt weak at the knees, but forced herself to focus in on his mind and examine his psychological state. She had to find out what was wrong.

Guilt was the most overwhelming sentiment coming off of him. There was shame, inadequacy, self-hatred and rejection coming off him in waves as well, all contributing to his pain. But they were all dwarfed by the feelings of guilt and failure.

Closing her eyes to the disturbing sight, Raven extended a psychic probe towards him trying to get a better view of his spiritual situation to determine where exactly all this guiltiness was coming from. But she had to work fast. Beastboy's humanity and self-awareness was quickly disappearing underneath layers of animal instinct as he smothered his pain and along with it went any recognisable train of thought. Focusing, Raven tried to see past the beast into his mind.

Terra was at the focus of his attention. The magnitude of his guilt and remorse over pushing the geomancer away and ultimately dooming her was enough to make Raven fall to her knees, but she persevered. Underneath Terra, Raven could sense something else. Something…bigger. She concentrated, physically squinting her eyes beneath their eyelids as she fought to see into Beastboy's rapidly disappearing consciousness.

Rushing water filled her ears.

Then nothing.

Raven opened her eyes to see to see the half-beast of Beastboy crouching in front of her, not ten feet away. The transformation of body and mind was complete. The eyes of The Beast shone at her.

Raven took a step forward, extending her hand, acting purely on instinct.

Unfortunately, Beastboy had just endured a considerable amount of pain. Emotional agony perhaps, but pain all the same and he was on edge, everything a threat. That was why he stepped forwards, filled his lungs at let loose the most inhuman roar any of the titans had ever heard. Starfire included.

Raven stepped hastily back, the unholy wall of sound eliciting a primal fear and panic deep in her. The rest of the titans fared no better. Raven stared into the feral face of one her four friends in existence; spittle and blood flying from his serrated teeth, a savage look in his animal eyes as he unloaded all his anguish at her.

And she was devastated.

She, Raven, the gothic half-demon whose icy demeanour and untouchable emotions were bulletproof, felt like bursting out crying.

Raven closed her eyes and turned away from him, riding out the last of the roar, simply trying to stop tears from falling. When the barrage of sound finally stopped, she opened her eyes to find him gone once again.

Only this time, she felt like she didn't have any energy left at all to pursue him, she just stayed there on her knees, head bowed, as the rest of the team gave chase. It was not the physical toll of the earlier battle that grounded her, but the emotional turmoil inside that paralysed her so effectively. Never before had she been so shaken to her very core, her emotions spiked so intensely or her hard exterior broken so powerfully.

And all by Beastboy.

Then the shock ended. And an emotional tidal wave swamped her.

* * *

Beastboy was running again.

The only instinct in his primal consciousness was escape. The pain had returned. All that mattered was escaping the pain. The pain was bad. The pain hurt. He could not face the pain. So he ran. As his hands and feet pounded the ground, however, a new reason to run arose.

He was being chased.

Behind he could hear rapid, heavy footfalls, the smell of metal sharp in his nose. And twisting his head up, he could see an orange and purple figure flying above him matching his speed, holding another red and green form in It's arms.

Beastboy's eyes narrowed, fear growing in his chest. It was fight or flight time and he was in no condition to fight. So flight it was.

Shifting quickly, he accelerated off in the form of a green cheetah, quickly losing the metallic man behind him, his scent growing fainter with each bound. After several seconds of full speed sprinting, though, the scent of the two creatures above him had not faded. This wasn't working.

Escape is one of the most fundamental instincts to any animal, a part of survival as natural as breathing. And this animal had part of a human intelligence working for it. Beastboy slowed, changing into the form of a bloodhound and drew a deep breath through his nose, searching. His head snapped to the right as he found what he was looking for and, shifting once again into a cheetah, he took off running.

Starfire and Robin were tracking Beastboy from the air. Star was having a hard time keeping up. She was exhausted and had injured her right leg in the fight with the monster. Her friend needed her though, and that kept her going.

Robin was studying Beastboy's movements. His earlier speeding up must have meant he knew he was being followed and this sudden new turn of direction must be related to that. _'But how?' _Robin wondered, his gaze wandering up to where they were going.

They came to rest on a cliff just over a mile away, the ocean beyond.

"Star, he's going for the ocean!" Robin exclaimed, "We have to catch him before then. We'll lose him!" Starfire nodded, Determination filling her eyes as she leaned forward and increased her speed.

"Restrain our friend please!" She replied, voice strained as she flew lower, skimming the tops of the trees, Beastboy below and in front of her. Robin removed his grappling hook from his belt, and took aim. He'd only have one shot at this, not having enough time to wind the rope back in before Beastboy made it to the cliff.

Robin took aim, secure in Starfire's arms, waited for clearing in the trees then pulled the trigger. The grappling hook launched along with the sharp sound of the pneumatic pump inside firing.

This was heard by Beastboy, the speed of sound somewhat faster that the speed of the grappling hook, and he had plenty of time to leap to his left under the cover of more trees as the hook imbedded in the ground to his right. This only spurred him on faster as he approached the edge of the cliff and threw himself off.

Robin and Starfire watched as he flew through the air, falling as gravity took hold, despair filling them both as they knew there was nothing more they could do. Beastboy turned into a dolphin just before impacting the water, an animal too cheerful for the situation at hand, Robin bitterly reflected. The two titans watched as the green mammal disappeared from view.

It would be the last time they saw their team mate for a long while.

* * *

Cyborg cursed darkly as the green streak before him completely disappeared. Panting, he came to a stop, hands on knees and glanced at him wrist monitor. He had taken quite a pounding in the earlier battle, damaging his left knee and arm. Even if he was running at %100, however, he doubted he could catch Beastboy in the forest. In a straight line, maybe, but dodging around solid trees was more Beastboy's area, while ploughing straight through them was Cyborgs.

'_Man, we should totally have a race sometime,_' he smiled to himself, before remembering the state his best friend was in at the moment. In a momentary fit of anger, Cyborg turned and threw his fist into a tree, cracking the trunk and sending it crashing to the ground.

"Dammit!" he yelled at the fallen tree. What the hell had Terra done to Beastboy to turn him in that… that thing? It had clearly been the mention of the blonde betrayer that had set him off again into the wails of agony that had shocked Cyborg to his core. He wanted to be angry at Robin, but that would accomplish nothing and besides, he had been wondering the same thing.

With a heavy sigh, he turned and started to trudge back to the recycling factory. He doubted Starfire and Robin would do much better than him. There was a reason he had survived so long in his quest to draw Raven out of her shell – nobody could catch him.

Speaking of Raven…

Cyborg stopped in amazement as he came across a perfectly round circle of destruction. Nothing was standing in a twenty foot radius. Trees had been uprooted and ripped to shreds; several bodies of small animals littered the ground, frozen in death's embrace. And at the centre of the demolition, on her knees with her head down was a female half demon that Cyborg had come to love like a sister.

Raven rose to her feet when she noticed cyborg running towards her, obscuring her tear stained face with her hood as she stood, only her blood shot eyes visible.

"Raven, what happened?" Cyborg said, "Did that monster come back?" He had never seen Raven lose control like this before, not once. It scared him.

Hardening her voice into her signature monotone, Raven replied with a rehearsed answer while turning away, "No, I simply felt it best to express my emotions for a moment. Letting loose once in a while in a safe environment is essential to controlling my feelings and thus my powers. Meditation can only do so much." She paused for a moment, "I take it Beastboy escaped?"

Cyborg studied the back of her hooded head, not quite believing her entirely but deciding to let it slide. "From me, yes. Hopefully the other two will have more luck, but I doubt it."

"You're correct." Raven replied blandly, starting to walk away.

Cyborg opened his mouth to ask her what she meant, but stopped when Robin and Starfire landed heavily beside him. They looked at him and shook their heads together. No words needed to be said.

"There's nothing more we can do tonight guys," Robin sighed, "Let's go home."

* * *

Beastboy was swimming.

He charged along at full tilt in the form of a green sailfish, traveling at 70mph, as fast as he could go. He couldn't stop. He couldn't stop because stopping would mean thinking and thinking would mean…

See, this is why he swam.

A paranoia of this pain gripped him. It was so intense, so personal, so completely and utterly obliterating that he couldn't bear to think about it let alone face it. Fear spurred him on. Fear of the pain.

So he swam, as hard as he could go, never letting up.

Eventually he hit land, so he transformed, got up onto the beach and started running again. By now it was the middle of the night, the moon above lighting his way to nowhere, as he kept running.

His legs ached, still not fully recovered from their brutal breaking, so he morphed shapes again and flew.

Beating his wings as fast as he could he shot through the sky, never slowing, never thinking. Just moving.

His body was weakening though, exhaustion setting in. But Beastboy did not stop. For stopping meant pain. The physical pain he was currently experiencing was numbed in his bestial form and was far preferable to what he had gone through earlier.

A light appeared on the horizon, his tired falcon eyes making it out to be a city and the moth in him was drawn to it.

He almost made it as well.

It was just outside the suburbs that his exhaustion finally got the better of him. Beastboy's vision darkened to black. With no energy to keep his bird form or his half-beast state, he reverted back to his most human form and dropped from the sky soundlessly.

Half a mile away, a shadow observed his fall from atop the roof of a gothic church, before detaching itself from the darkness and moving silently towards the edge of the city.

* * *

So the big action opening ends and the main meat of the story begins.  
Thoughts so far?  
Cheers,  
CJB


	4. Lost & Not Found

Shoutout to 'Jarec' who inspired the use this character. Check out his stuff.

Chapter Four: Lost & Not Found

Cassandra Cain had been born to kill.

When David Cain, a member of Ra's al Ghul's 'League of Assassins,' was tasked with creating the perfect bodyguard for the league's founder and leader, he set out to create the ultimate fighter from birth. Deciding genetics had to be the basis of his creation, he searched the world for the most perfect female martial artist in existence. Upon finding Sandra Woo-San, Cain set about manipulating her into bearing his child, Cassandra Cain. Wanting nothing to do with her daughter, Woo-San abandoned her after birth to Cain and went on to become leader of the 'League of Assassins.'

From the time she was born, the child was trained by several of the league's best fighters, including Cain himself. Of the opinion that the ultimate fighting machine should be focused on nothing but combat, he denied teaching her how to speak or read. In turn, she became able to read body language to an almost superhuman extent, being able to read and predict movements with uncanny accuracy.

When she turned five years old, Cain started bringing his daughter along with him to his jobs to acclimatise her to death and killing and to see this as normal and acceptable. At the same time teaching her to never feel emotion and punishing her appropriately for so much as smiling or frowning. At age 8, Cassandra performed her first assassination at the insistence of her father. As she dealt the killing blow, she read the man's body language, realising intimately what it meant to take a life. The experience emotionally damaged her severely, and she fled from her father, spending the next 9 years wandering as a mute, illiterate drifter.

The time was spent beating herself up mentally over the life she had taken and continuing her training wherever she could. Cassandra also took to helping people where she was able to try to atone for her sin. This might have continued indefinitely if she had not stumbled into Gotham City. Here, she encountered her father on assignment to assassinate the Commissioner of the city and intervened, saving his life. This was observed the Dark Knight himself, who recognised both her skill and desire to save human life and adopted her into the batclan as Batgirl. The next two years were spent continuing her training, learning how to speak, read and write and developing basic social skills.

Cassandra Cain now lives to protect.

It was this desire that drove her to investigate the figure falling from the sky. Flipping from building to building and swinging through the suburbs with her grappling hook, she made good time. After half an hour of searching in the dark, she eventually spotted a figure in a field, lying on their front with head turned away and limbs splayed. Batgirl approached slowly and stealthily, and gave the body a look once over. Her eyes widened as she took in the green skin, pointed ear and undeniably male physique, most of which was visible as he was clad only in tight fitting, jade boxers. He was definitely not entirely human, meaning there was a chance he had survived the death drop.

Despite her urge to help, Batgirl still took her time in approaching. It was unlikely to be a trap, but she had no idea who this person was and if they were friend or foe.

He remained unmoving as Batgirl neared him, but she sighed in relief when she observed a tiny fluctuation in his carotid artery, indicating a heartbeat. This seemed to be the only good news however. He had broken his back badly, a small white vertebrae actually protruded out through a laceration in his lower back, dried blood surrounding it. Both ankles appeared to be broken, a knee and shoulder dislocated and the other two cracked at least. There also seemed to be evidence of injuries unrelated to his recent collision with the ground. The male's neck was severely bruised, his shin bones seemed to have been fractured before the fall, his upper legs were dark with internal bleeding and several contusions and cuts on his face couldn't have been caused by anything other than fists.

Glancing around Batgirl observed a 4.4 inch dent in the ground 2.3 meters away, her sharp eyes calculating the measurements exactly. He had bounced. She knelt down over him, all apprehension gone; he was in no way a threat. But his chances of survival didn't look good. Without hesitation, she took out her radio.

* * *

An obsidian sphere of light appeared in the centre of the large living room of Titan's Tower. The ethereal energy slowly faded away to nothingness, leaving four teenagers in its wake. Only the bright half-moon shining through the large floor-to-ceiling windows provided any light. The mysterious and undeniably unsettling, if not straight up scary, atmosphere fit the moods of the heroes perfectly.

Raven and Cyborg immediately started for their rooms.

Watching their backs, Robin sighed. He really didn't want to do this but it had to be done. "Team meeting in an hour, everyone be back here by then." Neither gave any sign of acknowledgement as the automatic door swished shut behind them, but he knew they would be back.

Turning to the only other titan in the room, Robin felt his heart start to crumble at the sight of the alien girl holding back tears. He opened his arms invitingly and Starfire rushed towards him, catching him in a crushing hug and crying into his shoulder. Robin tried not to flinch as his already abused body protested at the superstrength embrace.

Nevertheless, he raised his arms and returned the hug. She was so innocent, so caring, so deeply concerned about others wellbeing. Robin knew the sight of her teammate and good friend in so much pain and distress had deeply affected her. After a few moments, her iron grip relaxed as her sobs slowed. She needed comfort and reassurance. Two things Robin was having trouble finding in himself. He tried anyway.

"It's okay, Star. Everything's going to be fine. You know Beastboy; he just needs to let it out. He'll be fine soon." As usual his words were gospel to her and she rallied quickly, pulling back to look at him with teary eyes.

"I am most relieved to hear such news, friend Robin. However, I do wish this had not occurred. Friend Beastboy appeared to be calming when we encountered him after his victory over the enemy. Why did he return back to his raging state?"

Robin tried not to flinch at both her question and the way she accepted his rash assurance that everything was going to be alright, when he had no idea how this was going to play out. He needed some time to think.

"Get yourself treated and cleaned up Star, I'll see you in an hour."

The tall, orange skinned alien watched as her not-so-secret love left the room without another word or look. Sometimes, she just had no idea how his mind worked. But that wasn't uncommon for her. Despite living on Earth for over five years, Starfire still found herself in situations where she had absolutely no idea what was going on around her. Most of the time, the explanations she received left her even more confused.

Her friends were patient in their help however, and Starfire knew her acclimatisation to terrestrial culture would have been nigh impossible without them. But even so, still she found herself wondering about the mysterious and handsome man that had captured her heart so long ago. Starfire felt she had been less than subtle in expressing her interest in him and saw in his eyes what she supposed was desire for her also. However, this was inevitably followed by him shaking his head, taking a step back and excusing himself.

Was this behaviour natural for human males? Was she doing something wrong? According to the large amounts of pop culture Starfire had consumed in the form of television shows, movies, books and magazines there was no real prelude to the act of dating other than mutual attraction.

Turning to a full length mirror mounted on the far side of the room, Starfire wondered for perhaps the thousandth time if she was attractive. There was no false modesty here. She was well aware that as a Tameraneon, she was indeed desirable with her lusciously long locks, slim form and piercing green eyes. The problem was that she had no idea if the Tameraneon view of beauty came anywhere close to Earth standards.

She remembered using the 'interweb' to research some of the Earth's most attractive women. With a sigh, Starfire recalled how none of them had had orange skin, unnaturally bright eyes or the ability to bend solid steel. She had thought most of them seemed to be undernourished and possessed a shiny and stretched quality to their skin that reminded her of the plastic cups in the kitchen.

Starfire sighed heavily again, wincing as this agitated her wounded shoulder and reminded her of the nights events. Guilt rose within her.

One of the very people that had worked so hard to help her understand the odd world around her was missing and in pain and she was feeling sorry for herself over the way she looked. The battle hardened warrior inside rebelled at the lack of loyalty and Starfire straightened up. She regarded herself in the mirror and formed a new resolve in her eyes to help her dear green friend. Giving her battle stained reflection a crisp nod, Starfire turned and headed for the shower.

* * *

Cyborg sat hunched over his work station, his six foot six, 385 pound, half metal frame occupying a specially made, reinforced swivel chair. With a sigh, he dropped a magnetized screwdriver, put his hands behind his head and leaned back, heaving a sigh.

He couldn't concentrate. On returning to the tower, he had removed and replaced all his parts damaged during the battle with the white monster (he always kept a supply of backups), had a quick shower, and set about fixing the knee of his cybernetic leg the monster had crushed. Usually he would analyse any harm sustained, identify the main weakness that had caused the impairment and set about improving it.

He was fairly sure that main hinge joint was still too fragile and vulnerable, but didn't have the heart or the mind-set to investigate any deeper. His thoughts kept drifting to the best friend he had. The first friend he had had Since Victor Stone became Cyborg.

Victor Stone had been somewhat of a social butterfly before the accident that had necessitated the mechanical implants and prosthetics that now made up roughly %75 of his body. But he had been in a hole of depression and rejection upon meeting Beastboy for the first time. Cyborg smiled to himself. The memory of the dorky, masked, green hero nervously trying to make conversation always amused him.

Gradually though, he had succeeded. As much to his own surprise as anyone else's, Cyborg found himself trusting the Grass Stain. Believing that the changeling didn't care he was half monster. Not that Beastboy himself could talk. Maybe that was why he never put off by appearances or countenances. He had always had to work to make friends, to show people he was more than just a green skinned half animal, all the while believing that he wasn't just a lime monster. Cyborg respected the fact that he had managed to maintain an upbeat, optimistic attitude in spite of all the crap he had been put through.

Beastboy didn't seem to see the hulking metallic side of Cyborg, like he didn't see the orange skin of Starfire or the icy cold demeanour, grey skin and dead eyes of Raven.

Cyborg snorted into his hand.

Ah, Beastboy and Raven. By far the most entertaining relationship in the entire tower. Robin and Starfire were more frustrating to observe than anything else, Starfire and Raven had become fast friends and Raven and Robin held mutual respect for one another. No, no Beastboy and Raven were better than any daytime TV show.

Cyborg had often wondered what drove the green changeling to risk bodily harm time and time again with his pranks, god-awful jokes and general annoyance, all directed at the empath. Possibly he got a kick out the danger, like poking a sleeping bear with a stick. Maybe he just wanted to get a response out of her. Or perhaps he was simply doing what he had with Cyborg, only it was taking much longer to draw Raven out of her shell. If that was the case, he had definitely made progress.

When the team had first come together, Cyborg and Beastboy cemented their relationship quickly and Starfire and Robin hit it off in no time either. Raven was undoubtedly the odd one out. Cyborg couldn't deny that he had been wary of the gothic half demon, with her expressionless face, short fuse and general heritage. He was the last one to judge people on superficial things, but a half-demon? He was sure the others had felt the same unease as he had.

Except of course, Beastboy.

Over the years he had worn her down and the two seemed to share a love/hate relationship. Well, okay, perhaps 'love' was a little strong, but he had been the only one who volunteered to knock on her door after the whole 'Malchior' incident. And that said something. After defeating her father Raven had relaxed greatly and began experimenting with showing more emotion. Cyborg had considered her his family long before that but she was definitely more pleasant to be around now. She smiled more, was more conversational and generally showed more feelings.

'_Which directly contradicts what she said to me earlier about having to let her feelings out.' _Cyborg reflected, remembering the devastation Raven had caused. He had been sceptical of her excuse; it didn't make much sense to him and had sounded a little mechanical and she had been especially affected by the state Beastboy was in. _'But surely that wouldn't account for the level of her response. She didn't seem that upset the last time the Beast made an appearance. But then she was unconscious for most of that event if I remember right. Maybe she likes the Grass Stain more than she lets on. Be hard not to I suppose, given the way she treats him,_' he thought with a smirk.

So yeah, perhaps Beastboy was on a mad quest to make Raven experience emotion the way he did – to the full.

Cyborg laughed to himself and picked up the screwdriver.

'_Or maybe he's just masochistic.'_

* * *

The female in question stretched beneath a powerful stream of hot water in her private shower, feeling the grime and muck of the earlier battle wash off. Raven relished the feeling. Upon shutting her door, she had immediately sat on her bed, adopted the lotus position and meditated for 45 solid minutes, floating softly as she reined in her emotions and caged them within herself. Rising, she had felt stiff and dirty and decided a shower was called for. Quickly stripping off her damaged and muddy leotard, cape, boots and underwear, she had stepped into the shower.

And now she was alone with her thoughts.

Raven exhaled deeply and leaned her head against the wet, tiled wall underneath the shower nozzle; wet, violet hair framing her vision as she felt the strong spray massage the back of her neck. It had been difficult, but she had managed to control her emotions enough to hopefully last the meeting Robin had called.

The intensity of her feelings had surprised Raven. However, without the use of her meditation mirror, it was difficult to distinguish individual emotions from the tide of temporarily tamed sentiment inside. She was unsure of what had happened. Casting her memory back, Raven was unable to remember when last she had exhibited such strong emotion apart from in anger. And she had let it out…

Raven groaned and lifted her head, allowing the torrent of water to strike her forehead for several seconds before turning the temperature up slightly and turning around.

She still couldn't believe she had lost control, recalling her surprise at the wide circle of destruction surrounding her when she had opened her eyes. What if her team had still been around? Raven shivered in the rising steam, unwilling to even picture such a scene. She could only be thankful they had had the strength to give chase to Beastboy.

Beastboy…

Why had the events surrounding him today evoked such a strong reaction in her? Her logical mind immediately grasped the facts. For one, it was her only her second time observing him in one of his Beast states; the first time being brief and fleeting. This time she had been up close, seen the bloodlust in his animal eyes and the saliva on his jagged fangs, enough to evoke a reaction in anyone. And the obvious agony her teammate had shown when they had confronted him was of course disturbing and worrying. Plus, no one had any idea where he was and there was no guarantee of him returning unharmed, also a natural cause for concern.

But there was more to it than that.

Raven slid down the slick wall, landing on her behind with knees bent up in front of her, the spray from above like a hot rain and considered Beastboy.

Theirs was a complex relationship, but one that she thought worked. Sure the first few years had been rough… Well, that was putting it lightly. Raven had been shunned and ignored her entire life, bereft of any real friendship or closeness. Joining the team had forced her to live in close quarters with people her own age, one of which was a hyperactive green socialite. A _male_ hyperactive green socialite.

Fear, severe introversion and a complete lack of social skills prompted her to spurn all his initial attempts at tentative friendship and even conversation. Raven had tried to rationalise it. She was there to fight crime, to try to do some good in the world before bringing about its destruction. She didn't need anyone, she didn't need friendship. What was the point if it was all going to be short lived anyway?

This cynical, but at the time reasonable, way of thinking was slowly worn down however. Raven saw how the others accepted each other. How an emerald, pointy eared shape shifter could laugh and mess around with a rocket-armed half robot. Eventually she came to have faith that they accepted her too. A sense of belonging had hesitantly developed in her. Regularly saving each other from injury and fighting crime together had also helped establish this connection.

And so she came to have a budding faith in her friends, faith that they would protect her like they protected each other. Faith that they didn't care her skin was a freakish grey. Faith that they didn't care about her heritage. Faith that they cared about her. This newfound confidence took some time to grow, but as it had, Beastboy had always been there with a conversation starter, looking to engage her in some way, trying to break through the walls she had erected around herself. Truth be told, Raven had no idea why he hadn't simply abandoned her as a lost cause after months of cold and sometime violent treatment when he overstepped a mark.

But even going too far showed her that he did want a reaction from her, that he was interested in her. Again this was a completely new phenomenon for Raven and all this attention was coming from a teenage boy, only contributing to her nervousness and insecurity. Raven cringed slightly as she recalled the incident which her meditation mirror, when Beastboy and Cyborg had accidently ended up in her mind. The catastrophe had turned into a positive experience (didn't mean she had to like it), with Raven finally realising her friends were more like her family and the boys realising there was far more to Raven than they had thought. The reason for her behaviour was also made apparent to them, spurring Beastboy into continuing his campaign to make her smile.

A small smile graced Raven's lips as she thought back to him knocking timidly on her door when she was at her lowest point in years. _'You think you're alone, but you're not,'_ he had said, inspiring the most affectionate action Raven had ever instigated. He had even said he'd been glad she had been born after her disastrous birthday. Beastboy had always been there for her, always wanted her to join in games or watch movies, seemingly wanting her company and nothing else. Always willing to be the butt of her sarcasm and responding with nothing but a weak comeback. All in all, he treated her like a person, like she wasn't a creepy half demon, but just an ordinary girl. She would always be thankful for that. Even if she didn't show it.

But recently she had been able to demonstrate things like that more. Since defeating her own father and breaking his influence on her life, Raven had been free to express herself more freely. Like when she had attempted to comfort Cyborg when the T-Car was totalled or when Starfire had that breakdown about Robin's aloofness. Or when Beastboy had slipped into self-hatred after his transformation into the Bea…

Ah.

She cringed as the vivid mental picture of a roaring Beastboy inadvertently filled her head. Blood and saliva flying from his open jaws. Rage and agony in his beastly eyes. A complete lack of humanity in his face. The sight that had disturbed her so deeply.

Physically shaking her head, Raven banished the image from her mind. She would dwell on that later. According to the waterproof LED clock sitting on the sink, she only had four minutes before Robin's meeting. Sighing she reach up and turned the shower off.

* * *

Hissing in pain as the liquid solution poured onto the large laceration on his right knee, Robin fought the urge to stop emptying the bottle over his injury. The fluid compound was one he had used for years on cuts such as the one he had sustained during the battle against the white monster. But that didn't make it hurt any less.

Developed by the Batman himself, the unique lotion possessed a variety of significant healing properties. Made up of a combination of antitoxin, a variety of balms and salves, antiseptic and a light peroxide, it effectively cleaned the wound, removed any dead or dying cells and promoted blood clotting and skin regeneration, helping the damaged area heal quickly while eliminating any risk of infection or other negative side effects. He received a regular supply from his old mentor with his regular equipment as only he knew the entire formula.

Eventually the bottle emptied and Robin sighed in relief as the pain began to recede and it gave him an excuse to abandon that particular train of thought. Instead him mind wandered, as the rest of his teams had, to the recent events involving Beastboy.

Robin had always suspected Beastboy would lose control again. To his mind it had been nothing but a matter of time before the Beast made an appearance in some form or another. When the original incident had occurred, Cyborg had claimed he had managed to concoct some form of suppressant drug to counteract what had happened to the changeling, but hadn't shown Robin what the remedy had consisted of.

Hacking into Cyborg's computer had taken over two hours that night by the full moon, the invasion of privacy only made possible by the failsafes Robin had integrated into the entire titan mainframe at the teams founding. Then he had required another hour to manually find the document as his cybernetic team mate only had to hook himself into the system to merge with it, making manual searching obsolete. After moving past a hidden file he had found impossible to open, Robin finally found the recipe. His suspicions had been confirmed as he found the medication to consist of merely a mild relaxant and light anti-depressant. Cyborg knew as well as he did that Beastboy's…condition had been instigated by fits of anger after the initial dousing of the chemical that had drenched both himself and Adonis. Cyborg's treatment had simply calmed the changeling down until the foreign substance had been flushed from his system. It had not addressed the issue, but Robin knew that no drug would be able to do that.

Beastboy was inherently unpredictable. There was no pattern in anything he did. From his fighting style to his varying everyday habits, there was no telling what random erratic impulse he would follow next. And only half of those unforeseeable urges he followed blindly were human. Granted, Robin knew Beastboy worked to ignore the majority of his animal instincts, heck Robin required it. But he was still forever scarred by the time the green guy had gotten up the morning after his Beast attack and walked out his room completely naked. When Robin had reasonably started yelling at him in the kitchen, he had done nothing but look down at his nude form in mild surprise and shrug. Apparently animals didn't wear clothes.

Robin's eyes narrowed at the memory, at the frivolous way Beastboy had dismissed his animal instincts. And he had hardly been in any position to act so flippantly. Robin had seriously considered dropping him from the team after he had kidnapped Raven and attacked the team in a ferocious rage.

He remembered crouching in front of a restrained Beastboy, asking if he would explain his actions. But he wouldn't cooperate; all he did was stare at a practically comatose Raven with an unidentifiable look in his eyes, which inevitably meant something bad. Upon further questioning, Beastboy became enraged and transformed into his _more natural_ state, breaking his bonds and quickly dispatching the entire team. Robin rubbed his jaw at the memory with narrowed eyes. That thing could hit hard.

When the whole fiasco was over the team had believed Beastboy to be protecting Raven the entire time and simply forgotten about it, assuming it was over. But Robin had known better. He knew there was a vicious, bestial side to Beastboy that was as changeable in its attitudes and loyalties as it was inhuman and powerful. He was nothing but an animal in that state after all, without any morality or consciousness. And Robin had always known that his other side wouldn't disappear and unavoidably resurface again.

Well, he had been right.

Beastboy had shown no loyalty to the team at all today. Sure he had killed the monster, but that had been in a blind rage; it could have easily been any one of them. And the very fact that he had killed the thing showed how merciless and feral he was. Robin was convinced the only reason he hadn't attacked all of them was due to his injuries and the fact he was outnumbered. Well, to be fair, he had calmed down and was starting to change back to his regular form at the sight of his team, before he had quickly reversed back. Robin had no doubt that Beastboy had no intention of hurting anyone, but the fact remained that he was a liability. An uncontrollable liability. A very serious team meeting would have to be called once he had returned.

'_Not looking forward to that,'_ thought Robin as he rolled his clean uniform down over his knee, the liquid now dry. He really did like the guy. He stood with barely a limp, a light painkiller in the solution easing the sting of the cut, and walked out of the room to attend the meeting he had called.

* * *

Thanks for reading!  
Love it, hate it? Leave a review.

G'luck.  
CJB


	5. Gone

Chapter 5: Gone

The team was seated at the table when Robin entered the huge main room of Titan's Tower. In automatic detective mode, he noted they had opted to forgo the comfortable semi-circular couch in favour of the harder kitchen seats. There was no sign of any snacks on the table, not even for Cyborg and a complete lack of drinks as well. Just serious and tired faces.

Robin had barely sat down before Raven had spoken up. "Alright, how do go about finding Beastboy?"

"We don't," the leader replied shortly.

The empath's eyes narrowed, never a good sign. Her voice was ice cold, "Excuse me?"

"Raven, if you have any idea of how to find him I'm all ears. But as far as I can see, we have no way of tracking him or predicting where he's going. Beastboy's most likely hundreds of miles away by now."

"What of his communicator? Can we not track it?" Starfire asked.

"I tried tracing it as soon as we got back to the tower. It's not responding. Beastboy most likely broke it." Robin said. "The only other way I had identified of finding him was through you, Raven. Is it possible for you to detect him?"

Raven looked down before answering, "Theoretically, yes. I could project my soul-self and rapidly cover a lot of ground, scanning for his mind's signature. However in my current condition, it would take a lot longer than usual and it would a shot in the dark to begin with. Added to that, his mind is quite animalistic at the moment, meaning it would be harder to identify."

"I thought so," Robin sighed, "All we can do is wait for someone to spot him and report it to us or wait for him to come back of his own accord. Meanwhile, we just hope nothing bad happens until he reverts back to normal."

Raven's gaze snapped up to focus on Robins eyes. "To him," she said in a dangerous tone. "Nothing bad happens _to him._"

If she had been able to see his eyes, Raven would have seen her leaders pupils shift upwards before falling back down to focus on hers. "Of course." He said, voice steady. Tired though she was and hard as Robin was trying to steel his mind, Raven thought she could detect a hint of dishonesty in his statement. Remembering the incident on the edge of the forest, she decided to call him on it.

"You don't trust him, do you?"

Starfire examined Raven for a moment before turning to a tensed Robin, awaiting his response. Cyborg shifted his gaze to him as well, interested in his answer. He too had been slightly disturbed at Robin's reluctance to give chase when Beastboy had gone after the white monster. Raven kept her eyes focused on the team leader, who shifted his feet beneath the table.

"Look Raven, I trust Beastboy with my life every time we go into battle together, you know that. But there's no denying he's not in his right mind when he's like this. He's wild and unpredictable and we have no idea of what he's capable of in this condition."

"You think he's just a wild animal?" Cyborg cut in, staring at the team leader, incredulity in his human eye and a light glow starting to emit from his red, robotic one, "That he'll just blindly attack anything that moves?"

"Not necessarily, we just-"

"What the hell does that mean?" A faint redness tinged the edges of Ravens eyes.

"Robin, we know friend Beastboy to be a protector of the innocent."

"That's outta line man. I mean come on-"

"Enough!" Robin said, raising his voice against his team for the first time in years. He looked around at their shocked expressions and realised he had to remedy the situation fast. "I just have some worries over his instincts while in this state, all right? nothing more. When he comes back, we'll sit down, I'll express these concerns and we'll talk it out. Okay? Let's focus on him for now."

This seemed to appease his team. Raven was still glaring at him, a coldness in her countenance in place of her usual bland expression. Cyborg looked troubled and Starfire seemed more confused than anything.

"Back to business. Anyone care to start?"

Silence.

"Fine, I'll go first. We found Beastboy back here yesterday afternoon after he deserted us in our pursuit of the white monster. He told us that he'd seen Terra, apparently alive and unharmed. Then the alarm sounded for a disturbance in downtown and he refused to come with us, saying he was going to continue searching for her. Good so far?"

The titans nodded, except for Raven who hadn't stopped glaring. Nothing he had said so far was untrue but she didn't like the tone with which he spoke. It seemed too positive, like Robin was trying too hard. He continued.

"If I'm right, this is the last anyone saw of him before he turned up at the recycling plant today, correct?"

"Yeah,' Cyborg confirmed, putting aside his analysis of Robin in favour of trying to find out what had caused his friend's condition. "I checked his room last night, he didn't sleep here."

"Right, so what happened between those two times to cause the… change in him? Any ideas?"

Cyborg spoke up tentatively, "You think he could have found her?"

Robin sighed before answering, "Anything's possible. Stranger things have happened."

"If so, could Terra have attacked our friend, leading to his transformation?" Starfire asked?

Cyborg quickly theorised, "It's possible Star, the combination of emotional turmoil, anger and physical pain could have instigated a reaction in him, causing his change. It's conceivable, but we have no real understanding of what prompts his transformation into the Beast so I can't be sure.

"I suppose the only thing to do is check Terra's tomb to see if she's still there. We can go from there." Robin stated,

The others accepted this and soon a heavy silence had fallen.

"I believe I was not the only one to observe the differences in our friend's transformation today, yes?" Starfire said in a worried voice. Raven answered.

"I think I have the best understanding of what state he was in, as I was able to observe his emotional form to some extent." She spoke in her bland monotone with her hood up, giving no sign of emotion on the matter. "As far as I can understand, Beastboy was somewhere between his normal state of being and that of the Beast."

Cyborg nodded, "I thought the same thing based on his physical appearance. It was like he was himself just bearing some of the Beast's characteristics. I took a snapshot of him after he first arrived at the factory today. Here." Wirelessly syncing with the Tower's basic functions, Cyborg activated the high powered projector built into the ceiling of the room which cast its light to the far side of the room. The titans used this as a screen for video messaging, television, movies and video games. Now however, Cyborg used it to display the image of Beastboy he had snapped earlier in all its high definition glory.

The image showed the green titan down on all fours in front of the gaping hole he had made in the side of the building, sunlight reflecting of the dust still in the air around him. Teeth bared and eyes tight with focus. The sight silenced the titans before Cyborg took the initiative. Analysing the image, he spoke, using a nearby laser pointer to aid his prognosis of Beastboy's state.

"He appears approximately two thirds the size of the Beast; I'd say 6'10, maybe 7 feet tall. Judging from purely visual calculations, his muscles were enlarged by several hundred percent and his limbs lengthened. His feet grew straight, 2 inch long claws and his hands bared 3 inch, slightly curved talons. Tracks of fur emerged along his forearms, legs and back and his hair had tripled in length. His jaw had become larger to accommodate lengthened teeth and fangs which look to be very similarly serrated to that of a great white shark. I think we all recognise his eyes."

Everyone indeed recognised the glowing green eyes of the Beast staring out at them.

"So his physical appearance was a combination of his normal form and that of the Beast." Starfire summarised.

"It seems so," Cyborg confirmed.

"His mental mind fell somewhere in between as well," Raven not wanting to elaborate. However, she wasn't left with much choice. Robin turned to look at her.

"Explain."

Briefly she considered ignoring the Boy Wonder, but decided she couldn't chance another argument. There was a high chance she'd do something she'd regret. Besides, it could hurt the chances of finding their lost friend. "My initial encounter with Beastboy as The Beast afforded me a small window to examine his mind in that state. At that time, very little of his consciousness remained, almost none. It was very much like the mind set of an animal, entirely involved in the present and acting purely on instinct."

She paused, considering how to phrase how Beastboy had been earlier that day. "Today it was different. When he first arrived, he knew what he was doing." She gestured to the picture of Beastboy still up on the screen. "Beastboy never even glanced at us. He had a target; therefore he had been thinking ahead, something he definitely did not do as The Full Beast.

Cyborg interrupted, "I think we need a name for Beastboy like this," he voiced, motioning towards the screen. "All this talk of full Beasts and partial Beasts will get confusing. How about 'Changeling'? 'Cause he was still able to shape shift? Sound good? Alright, back to you Raven."

Raven nodded and continued, "While Beastboy didn't have any individual thoughts today, part of his and I can't believe I'm saying this, intelligence remained. I'm sure that was how he was able to defeat the white monster. He recognised physical attacks didn't do anything and altered his approach appropriately. While he might not have consciously made that observation, his intellect was still somewhat present, albeit buried under animal impulse. As The Beast, I'm sure he would have continued blindly attacking until exhaustion.

"Putting it simply, his mind was somewhere between his normal form and that of the Beast. Just like his physical form, there were characteristics present from both states." Her analysis complete, Raven lapsed into silence.

"It was clever of friend Beastboy to determine a method to defeat our assailant," Starfire said smiling.

'_Or he got lucky,'_ Robin thought bitterly, annoyed at Starfire's praise. Out of the corner of his eye he detected a glare from Raven and quickly spoke. "It's interesting how he retained his power to shape shift. He fought quite differently in the brief time we observed him. I was impressed." He turned and addressed Raven, "What happened when you followed him into the forest? We were quite some time behind you."

Raven resisted the desire to roll her eyes at his attempt to appease her by praising Beastboy. How blind did he think she was? Nevertheless, she answered his question as the others looked at her, intrigued.

"I eventually found him engaging the white monster alone, doing an admirable job I might add." Raven had to restrain a smile trying to force its way onto her lips at the sight of a clearly irate Robin. She continued, "You're right, he was fighting in a very different style to his usual approach, using his abilities like I'd never seen. However, none of the damage he inflicted did anything, the thing simply reformed. When he changed back to himself, he was in a bad way." Raven frowned, remembering his beaten and bloody body.

"What happened then?" Starfire asked, apprehension in her voice.

Raven considered telling them of the rest of the battle with her disastrous intervention and Beastboy almost killing himself to save her. But she still hadn't got around to examining that herself. Besides, there was really nothing to gain.

"Eventually, he took the form of a snake and bit it several times before being thrown off. After that the thing just…melted. I turned around and he was gone, that's when you guys showed up."

Silence descended again until Starfire spoke up, "Where you able to gain any insight into his emotions, Raven? How he felt?"

The empath inwardly sighed before answering in her monotone voice, "Remember what I said about his conscience Star? How he wasn't really thinking and had no clearly defined thoughts, but his intellect was still somehow able to function? Well, it was the same with his emotional landscape. There were no individual emotions, just a broad generality of feeling.

Raven tried to elaborate. "If I were to look into your mind right now Star, I would see emotion and thought; two separate things. At the moment, your emotions are dimmed as you are concentrating on what I am saying and therefore feeling takes a back seat" Starfire opened her mouth to question the expression and Raven quickly clarified, "Your feelings are in the background, pushed to one side as you focus on me, right?" Star nodded slowly.

"Well, this is how animals' minds behave. They always live in the moment with no real emotions, merely acting on whatever urge is compelling them at that instant in time. That's what Beastboy was like, focused entirely on whatever was immediately grabbing his attention, with emotion not really being present. Does that make sense? Raven felt relief at Stars cautious nod.

"So, in the shell of a nut, he wasn't feeling anything as he was always doing something?"

"He wasn't feeling _much. _It's impossible for any living thing to be completely devoid of basic emotions barring the plant kingdom and the very simplest of animals. But yes you're right. At the beginning-

"He looked pretty mad to me," Robin cut in, crossing his arms.

Ravens gaze snapped to him. She did not like being interrupted or contradicted. "A wolf does not feel rage or '_mad'_ when his pack is threatened; it merely feels the urge to protect, there is no emotion involved. This is what Beastboy was experiencing as Changeling. Do not question my abilities or experience as an empath." She delivered the last line with narrowed eyes and a subtle threat in her tone.

Robin remained still. Any other time he wouldn't have let that go, but he recognised now was not the time. Raven was clearly upset at the events involving Beastboy and was feeling particularly touchy. Best just to leave it be.

Raven continued as if the interruption hadn't happened, "When he first appeared at the factory, Beastboy was feeling just that; the need to protect. Robin's message to him asking for his help is most likely the reason for his feeling that urge upon arrival. This continued until we all confronted him and he started to change back when…"

"When what?" Cyborg gently prompted. It couldn't have been pleasant for the empath to look into his mind at that stage, especially when he freaked out when Terra had been mentioned.

Raven steeled her voice, "He became easier to read at that stage as his conscience started to reappear and his animal urges faded. He mostly felt confusion and fear as his transformation started. That was when _something_ happened to trigger his conversion back into Changeling." Raven said, turning her eyes on Robin.

He didn't meet her eyes, deciding instead to take over lead of the discussion, "The mention of Terra acting as the trigger for his reaction lends credence to our theory from earlier that she-"

"You're just going to gloss over that? Not admit your mistake?" Raven's cold and dangerous voice interrupted, her eyes flashing.

"I made no mistake," Robin responded, turning to look at her, "I was perfectly correct in my deduction that Terra was in some way most likely the cause of his condition-"

"And you thought the most appropriate course of action was to mention the very thing you believed to be the source of his transformation?" Raven responded, voice getting louder with every word.

"Raven, calm down. He made a mistake." Cyborg pleaded, not wanting this to get out of hand.

"I have no problem with his making a mistake," Raven stated, eyes starting to glow blood red as they stayed fixed on Robins. "What I do have a problem with in his denial of it! Beastboy would be sitting here now if it wasn't for your blunder and I will not have you denying it!"

Robin capitulated, "Okay, okay I messed up! I thought the situation was in hand and I screwed everything up, I'm sorry!" Robin exploded, unloading his guilt and shame over the accident. It had been a pretty stupid move on his part.

Ravens eyes returned to normal and several objects included a toaster, plate, chair and the couch slowly returned to their places gently before the aura of black surrounding them faded. "It's okay Robin," She said, voice and face softening at the waves of previously submerged guilt flowed out of him, "I know you had no intention of inciting him further.

"But know this," Robin raised his eyes to hers, wondering what she had in store. "The reason this works, both as a family and as a team, is that we have trust in you. That we retain the right to question your decisions and influence you as a leader. When you don't admit your mistakes to the team, that faith dries up. Remember that. I don't need to remind you of Red-X."

Everyone cringed at the memory of that Robins deception. It had taken weeks and months for the entire team to get over it. Robin replied.

"You're right Raven. I apologise to you all, thanks for putting up with me," A guilty grin on his face as he saw his team nodding and smiling at him. "Anyway, back to Beastboy. Raven, you were talking about his mental state after my intervention of his transformation."

She nodded, pleased at his humbling and continued where she had left off. "At the mention of Terra, Beastboy's emerging mind immediately went into emotional turmoil. The main feeling that I was able to distinguish being overwhelming guilt. His consciousness then recoiled back from the pain of the emotion into animal instinct. Like he was shielding himself from the emotional pain by hiding underneath his animal side."

"Guilt, huh?" Cyborg wondered aloud. "Well, we all know what he was like after Terra died; it's just like him to blame himself over something like that as well. I didn't think it would be that bad though."

"Indeed, perhaps these feelings of guilt resulted from interaction with Terra yesterday, initiating his transformation."

"That's definitely a possibility Star, but we still don't know if it was the real Terra or if…"

Raven remained quiet as her friends kept on deliberating. She detested lying, but didn't feel that she was out of line keeping back what else she had seen in Beastboys head. She had no real idea of what that had been anyway and it definitely wouldn't have contributed to anything. She tuned back into the conversation as Robin was talking.

"…think that's about all for tonight guys, It's gone 2 o'clock. Best to get some rest. If Beastboy isn't in his bed tomorrow morning, we'll have to start looking for him. Cyborg, I want you to do a full chemical analysis and evaluation of that sample you have of the white monster. That thing didn't come from nowhere and it's likely to be the start of something. Thanks guys, sleep well."

* * *

The pale half-moon's light glinted off of a pool of muddy white in a scene of utter destruction. Without a sound a dark figure approached, head turning as they scanned the devastation with an observing eye.

Starlight glinted off a test tube container as the figure kneeled by the puddle of matter and a deep voice whispered to itself.

"Let's see what went wrong, shall we?"

* * *

So chapter 5. Thoughts, opinions, criticisms?  
All reviews appreciated enormously.

Review Responses.  
Waterfire98 – Sorry for disappointing you, I hope you won't be dissatisfied with Batgirl. Why did you think it was Argent, though?

FF8cerberus – Thanks for reviewing. I like in-team conflicts and after rewatching 'The Beast Within,' thought Robin was out of line but in a reasonable way and decided to integrated that into the fic. I'm going to try to fit in a character arc for him as well throughout this. As for how long BB will be away, you'll find out in a few chapters. Though I will say I spent some time working on the phrasing of that sentence ;)

Thanks for everything guys,  
Peace,  
CJB


	6. Propane Nightmares

Shoutout to EX3451 for providing much needed encouragement.

Chapter 6: Propane Nightmares

Beastboy opened his eyes.

He was standing before a very odd sight. It captivated him.

Small bushes and shrubs grew close to him on grass and beyond them were sparse, short trees and other vegetation which grew into a small forest further away from him. Feeling an irresistible urge to see beyond, Beastboy shifted into the form of a hummingbird and raised himself straight up into the air to see past it. The forest thickened and became denser further away and beyond that deepened and became more jungle like. There was less light the father Beastboy looked away, darkness growing as the jungle became wilder and the trees larger, eventually obscuring his vision completely over the most wild terrain yet.

It was a progression of nature, starting small but eventually becoming larger and more dominating.

The sight did not trouble Beastboy in the least. In fact, he felt like it was the most natural thing in the word. Drifting down, he morphed back to himself before alighting softly in front of the evolution of the wild. It was at this time, he realised he was naked.

Again, he was completely at ease with this.

'_Must be the animal in me,'_ he chuckled to himself before stopping suddenly. '_Animal in me_._ Why does that ring a bell?' _He cocked his head, looking up at the sky, which really wasn't the sky as it was a sheet of pure white, again not fazing him in the least. Shaking his head, he pushed the thought from his head and turned around.

The sight before him was exactly the same, but completely different.

In the far distance, Beastboy made out a towering city full of huge skyscrapers, all appearing to be neatly aligned. Drifting his eyes down, he saw that the buildings shrunk down into blocks of apartments, from there down to houses and from there to bungalows. Eventually the buildings closest were nothing more than knee high huts, still in neat rows like the rest of the structures behind them.

Beastboy turned around again, confronting the mess of nature then turning back to the organised man made world. After several needless spins, he found himself standing sideways, one scene on his left and the other on his right. On one side of him was chaotic, primitive nature. On the other was systematic, civilised humanity. Reason on one side versus instinct on the other. Tame versus untamed.

Man versus animal.

As Beastboy was considering all this, a shape appeared shrouded in fog between two bungalows and he turned in order to see it better. He watched as the shape grew more defined in the mist and revealed itself to be shaped like a person. He felt no fear, just curiosity with an ominous undertone of worry. As the figure stepped nearer, Beastboy realised it was a feminine shape with long hair and a slim body. The worrying feeling becoming more pronounced inside him, he could only watch, frozen in place as the mist finally receded completely revealing a bowed head of blond hair atop a figure wearing a black shirt and yellow shorts.

Beastboy watched mouth open and dread in his chest as the figure raised its head exposing piercing blue eyes that he knew all too well. He clenched as fresh guilt and pain sprouted inside him, consuming his chest with fiery venom.

He had a choice to make. He could stand and face his pain. Or he could bury it and run.

Stumbling backwards, Beastboy passed by shrubs, emerald eyes still fixed on blue ones. The pain was too great. He needed escape. So he ran, turning his back on the girl and the humanity beyond and sprinting past ever growing trees and plants towards the darkness of the jungle afar, burying the image of her with the wilderness.

* * *

Dressed in dark blue sweat pants and a simple black t-shirt, Cassie glanced at the only clock in the hospital bay; a stark white room packed with some of the most advanced medical equipment there was including some items that were entirely unique, all surrounding 6 beds. The sight of the hour and minute hand aligned on the 10 of the clock prompted a yawn from the teenage heroine, who had been up all night on patrol and had only returned at sunrise for a shower, breakfast and change of clothes before coming straight to the room she was currently in.

She had found the rest of the night to pass slower than usual as her thoughts had not entirely been on the job at hand. Instead, they had frequently wandered to the green boy she had last seen being gently placed into the back of a specially renovated minivan, one of many owned by her adopted father. Her last glimpse of his face had been obscured by the oxygen mask coving his nose and mouth, before the back doors had been closed by one of her best friends in the world; Alfred Pennyworth, personal butler to the Dark Knight. He had assured her in his fantastically English accent that the young man would be treated as soon as possible.

Batman had been unavailable.

Now the object of her many thoughts lay before her and she was able to examine his rather round face closer. His head was topped with coarse, dark green hair, a strand of which fell across one of his closed eyes that she had yet to see. Two pointed, elfin ears reached up and out from his head. Between them was a small, sharp nose above a large mouth, out of which a single fang protruded upwards from the left side of his lower lip. The rest of his body was obscured by a white medical gown, under which she knew most of his thin body was bandaged. Over the top of him were three industrial grade straps. She still felt uneasy about restraining him, but knew that Batman would be most displeased if she failed to take that precaution.

In any case, he looked sufficiently recovered at the moment to give escaping them a try. In the 8 hours between seeing him, the boy had undergone an astonishing recovery. Alfred had informed her of the mysterious stranger's condition the moment she had returned from patrol in the batcave.

'_After collecting him I radioed ahead to have Barbara prepare the surgery for he was in obvious need of immediate operation.'_ The tall borderline father of Bruce Wayne had addressed her with warm, bright eyes. _'However, upon removing the young man from our emergency vehicle, I observed that the eighth thoracic vertebrae which had previously punctured the skin no longer did so. A more thorough examination showed that the injuries he had sustained were no longer life threatening. The boy clearly has some regenerative abilities. Once I was sure there was nothing more I could do for him, I addressed his injuries as best I could to help aid his healing process. While still far from perfect, he is in much better condition, although he is showing signs of extreme exhaustion and overexertion.'_

Cassie had been fatigued, hungry and wanted out of her skin tight costume, but couldn't let her curiosity go at Alfred's slightly turned shoulder, marginally lowered head and faintly raised eyes.

'_Know something else. What?' _she communicated, her grasp of language still basic.

Alfred didn't bother with surprise at the girl's ability to read him; he was well used to it. _'I believe I have some idea of who this person is.' _He revealed, watching the girl from the corner of his eye and judging her reaction for himself. She had leaned forward slightly, a clear sign of interest. Alfred allowed himself a small smile before turning back to address her. _'I like to keep up to date with the birds that have left our cosy nest here. Although contact with Master Grayson has been somewhat lacking over the past years, I have endeavoured to keep tabs on him. Thus, I am fairly sure the individual now residing in the hospital bay is a member of the team he has formed. If memory serves, our green guest goes by the name…'_

"Beastboy," Cassie whispered to herself. Alfred had confirmed his suspicion later on, with a full colour magazine spread he had obtained from Jump City some time ago detailing the Titan team with full length photos. Further internet research had confirmed this and offered more info on the green hero. His powers were most interesting and Cassie wondered how he had received them.

Looking down at the lime green boy's face, she felt something completely foreign stir within her. It was a kind of desire she decided, a desire to talk to him, to get to know him, to interact with him. For the thousandth time she cursed her father for denying her the right to feel emotions. Even raising her eyebrows had been a punishable offense in his eyes. She felt certain this fluttering in her stomach was a feeling she should have experience with and resolved to ask Alfred, her unofficial teacher on all things emotional, about it later.

It was a nice face, Cassie decided as her eyes tried in vain to read his completely relaxed expression; strong, cute. Again, she had to resist the urge to reach out and stroke one of his long ears; there was something quite attractive about them. She had no idea what, but the feeling remained anyways.

A new sound joined the beeping of the heart rate monitor beside her. Following the two wires attached to pads at his temples upwards, she examined the newly formed brainwaves appearing on the screen of the neuro-activity apparatus. The waves were too consistently small to indicate his awakening, instead suggesting that he was dreaming.

Turning her eyes back to his face, Cassie wondered what this Beastboy person must be dreaming about. _'Perhaps girlfriend?' _she thought with a spark of…something. The teenager visibly started, eyes widening. Where had that thought come from? And that emotion? Such things never occurred within her.

Cassie shook her head, it had been a long night and she needed sleep. With a final glance at his face, she turned to walk away.

She had turned the handle before noticing the slight increase in the speed of the heart rate monitor, which kept on slowly speeding up. Walking back to his bedside, she was struck by the expression on his face. Jaw clenched, brow lowered, skin tightened around the eyes, nostrils wrinkling: all tell-tale signs of physical pain. But he shouldn't be in any pain, Cassie confusedly thought. It was then she noticed his spiking brainwaves accompanied by another increase in heart rate. Most likely a nightmare.

'_Probably not girlfriend then,'_ Cassie thought, completely oblivious to any sarcasm in the comment.

Her examination of the brainwave monitor was interrupted by a deep growling. Her head snapped down to observe another change in the boy's face. Classic signs of anger: Eyebrows lowered and pulled together, tensed and straightened lower eyelids, upper lip raised… what?

In all her time reading people's body as a substitute for language and expression, Cassie had never come across baring ones teeth in such a fashion before. It reminded her of an aggressive wolf.

She had no time to ponder this however, as things started to move very fast.

The beeping of the heart rate monitor was almost an incessant hum it was going so fast and the brain activity levels had spiked massively. It was at this point that the rather gangly green male on the bed in front of her began to transform.

The growl deepened in his throat as his body began to bulge, evident even under the loose hospital gown he wore. Cassie heard tearing as the bandages wrapped around his torso strained then ripped under the sudden influx of mass beneath them. It was at this point, as his fingernails grew into claws that astonishment gave way to a lifetime of discipline and Batgirl sprang into action.

Turning to a white cabinet beside her, she quickly opened the doors and scanned the ready filled syringes stacked neatly within, each with a clearly written label. Glancing at the still expanding boy in the bed, whose hair had almost doubled in length and who was starting to strain at the straps restraining him, she decided that it was better not to take chances. She wasn't sure what was going on: he wasn't turning into any recognisable animal and his expression of intense pain followed by anger suggested his mental state wasn't great. Grabbing the strongest sleeping drug they had, she turned and wondered how best to administer it, trying in vain to block out the pained cries from the boy as he grew. She shook her head and focused.

The most effective way would be to the neck, straight into the carotid artery, but she didn't like the look of those newly enlarged and serrated teeth that continuously snapped at invisible foes. The forearm was the next logical choice as an injection directly into a vein was also an efficient way of getting the drug circulating around the body. However, there was little chance of hitting a vein as he was thrashing wildly and his arms continued to expand. The thigh was therefore the easiest and safest place for injection.

Acting quickly, she stabbed the syringe down through thin fabric of the hospital gown into his thigh and began pushing the plunger down, injecting the powerful liquid into his body. A snarl of discomfort sounded to her left but she focused on the job at hand, knowing that this was the best thing for him.

The large amount of tranquiliser was three quarters gone when the resistance to the needle disappeared and Cassie found herself administering sedative to the bed. The boy was gone.

Whirling around into a combat stance, Cassie's eyes swept the room. There was no one there, yet the door remained locked and it was the only way in. Remembering his powers, she swept the room again, more carefully this time looking for any sign of an animal. Had she been fresh and her mind sharp, she might had thought to look directly beneath her, where a tiny green ant sat, waiting to strike.

In a silent and very fast transformation, Beastboy materialised behind Cassie. She never felt the savage blow to the back of her head.

Changeling's bright green eyes surveyed the cage he was in as the woman fell to the floor. White and metal was everywhere. For some reason it scared him. This place was bad, painful, and dangerous. He needed escape, needed out of this prison. Shifting quickly, a green Indian bison prepared to smash through the door to freedom.

* * *

It had been a long night for the Batman as well. An encounter with the Joker had taken up most of the night, and it had all been for nothing as the cursed clown had gotten away. The Dark Knight angrily yanked the wheel in an uncommon display of emotion as he navigated the batmobile through a concealed underground passageway, one of the many ways into the batcave. He did not accept failure.

The night, however, had taken a decidedly more pleasant turn when he had run into Catwoman atop the natural history museum. Needless to say, she had been atop something else before the night was over. This was the reason for his lateness. He still had to file a report on the night's proceedings (omitting a certain hotel room experience) and get a report from Batgirl.

Batman sighed in a rare moment of strain. He had been tracking the Joker for the past month, following up countless false trails like mass disappearances of toxic waste or one of the many break ins to candy stores all over Gotham, most of the time narrowly escaping with his life. All that work, effort and time wasted in tonight's loss. It was enough to put a load on anyone's shoulders; even the Batman. Moments with Selina helped break the pressure but these encounters were few and far between, the last 'meeting' with her being more than six months ago.

As he skilfully manoeuvred the batmobile around a stray rock without a second thought, Batman idly reflected on Alfred's latest attempt to force him into some form relaxation. _'A hobby is what you need Master Wayne,_' he had said as he served hot, black coffee to the Dark Knight at four in the morning. _'Something to take your mind off the job periodically. It could be related to crime-fighting, heavens know it would have to be, but indirectly.'_ Batman had actually given it quite a bit of thought. He was well aware of the importance of downtime, a strained body and soul made for ineffectiveness, but he had always considered sleep his time for idleness. The problem was he couldn't think of anything that could engage him sufficiently that wasn't a waste of time. He'd give it more thought later.

After entering a long series of numbers into the console beside him, a section of the supposedly solid rock floor lowered some way in front of him, creating a ramp downwards. Gunning the throttle, Batman shot the batmobile down it, winding up on the real road to the batcave. The trail he had just left led only to an advanced array of scanners and an eventual trap.

As the tunnel opened up into an open area, the batcave came into view. It was an impressive place. Thick, perforated steel plates anchored in the jagged and uneven rocks below formed walkways and floors, fitting the contours of the cave as naturally as possible, providing a surprisingly spacious floor area. Towards the very bottom of the cave was a reinforced bomb shelter which housed the cave's power source; a hydrogen generator which allowed the cave to function completely off the grid.

The large superstructure was designed to be able to function even if a nuclear war was to break out with supercomputer, kitchen, training area with gym, beds, living area, medical bay, lavatories, crime lab and shooting range. It even included a well-stocked library. While practical, the batcave was also quite personal to the Bat. Behind concealed doors lay a trophy room, a costume vault and workstation where the majority of his inventing and remodelling took place.

The main floor housed most of the living arrangements, but possessed no walls. The kitchen consisted of a worktop, fridge and cooker lined up against one wall of rock with a table and chairs in front. There was nothing to separate it from the rest of the cave. It was like this with the training area, library and everything else in the main area. Batman preferred it open plan. He could see everything. The exception was the bathroom and the medical bay, one for obvious reasons and the other required a sterile environment.

Batman stopped the batmobile on its turntable and pressed another button activating the hydraulics, which raised the platform up into a circular landing platform level with the rest of the cave. Batman jumped out of the car and strode between the batplane, jet, copter, and other mobiles all arranged neatly on the disc, ready to go at a moment's notice.

As eager as he was for food and a shower, Batman neglected these needs until his work was done. But first he intended on paying their guest a visit. He had heard the message from Alfred about the possible hero Batgirl had seen drop from the sky but had been too busy to respond. His butler had been sparse on his description of the situation and the person in question, being more intent on saving their life than talking. As usual, Batman was suspicious.

He was twenty feet from the door of the medical bay when it exploded outwards.

* * *

I'd call that a pretty solid cliffhanger, wouldn't you?  
Any comments on the portrayal of Batman and Alfred would be greatly appreciated. I've never really watched much of the animated show so I'd appreciate feedback on how to improve them.

Review Responses:  
EX3451 – Thanks man, you're right about reviews – They're are like the writing equivalent of espressos, warm you up and give you the energy to keep going Any and all future criticisms and feedback is greatly appreciated!

FF8Cerberus – I've got a little more establishing of Robin's character to do. And then his comeuppance shall commence!

Tsk91 – I aim to please

Shugokage – I'll try to get the next chapter out quickly. Probably be a short one though.

Thanks for stopping by.  
See you next time,  
CJB


	7. Breakin' A Sweat

Chapter 7: Breakin' A Sweat

Beastboy reverted back to half Beast state on all fours on the main floor of the batcave, before taking in his surroundings. A large, open space with lots of metal and stone. Not so bad. But it was still a prison and he needed to escape. Shifting quickly into bloodhound, he took a long deep breath and immediately transformed back.

He was not alone.

Among the aromas of stale air, bat droppings, metal and stone, he had distinguished several other more threatening scents. Namely, sweat and other body liquids – one found only in males, another solely in females. Together they came from somewhere in the darkness above him. With his enhanced sight, he scanned the rocky ceiling of the cave, the area he was searching narrowing as his nose zoned in on the other animal.

A tiny movement vanishing behind a stalactite caught his eye.

* * *

Batman hung by his grappling hook behind the stalactite and quickly removed his radio, hoping to get in touch with Batgirl. She wasn't responding. Not a good sign. A glance from behind the pillar afforded the Dark Knight a view of his opponent for the first time.

A tall, green, animalistic humanoid on all fours wan mimicking the stalking crouch of a tiger in front of the destroyed hospital wall. Giving him a once over, Batman retreated back behind the rock to analyse his opponent, going into detective mode.

'_Green skin. Martian Manhunter, Beastboy, Poison Ivy, Killer Croc. Obviously Beastboy. Animal shape shifter, heightened senses, decent martial artist. Part of Robin's Teen Titans. Current state indicates partial animal transformation induced by rage judging by unique pupils, facial expression and tensed muscles. Threat: probable.'_

Batman's analysis was cut short by the appearance of a small green bat before him.

'_Impressive,'_ noted the Caped Crusader as he released his grapple, missing the newly formed Sasquatch fist by inches. Hitting the ground, he immediately dove to the side narrowly avoiding fruit being crushed by the large elephant that struck the ground behind him, denting the reinforced steel. _'A Sasquatch? Interesting.'_

Rolling to dispel the impact of his dive then rising quickly, Batman watched as the emerald elephant shrunk down to its original form.

'_Tightening of the trunk and sagging in rear legs indicates pain and previous leg damage. Right hand forward, right handed. No trace of human intelligence present. Communication not an option. Drop of foreign translucent liquid on left thigh, not perspiration, blood, or saliva, semen unlikely.'_ Glancing through the ruined hospital front, The World's Greatest Detective observed a nearly empty syringe lying on the floor near a female hand. His mind eased as a finger twitched_. 'Batgirl administered sedative, draw fight out, eventually take toll.'_

His plan formed, Batman loosened into a combat stance, mildly interested in seeing what a team mate of his former apprentice and partner could do. The creature's eyes narrowed in anger at the sight and without hesitation, charged.

'_Fast,'_ noted the Dark Knight as he flipped over the top of the charging beast, landing lightly on his feet, before ducking beneath a feral, clawed left hook. _'Very fast, ambidextrous' _he reflected jumping away from an uppercut. _'Pay more attention.'_

The creature was circling him now, appearing to plan its next move. The vivid green eyes never left his. Suddenly a full grown rhino was charging at him, moving far faster than its bulk would suggest it could. As the rhino took to the air (something else you wouldn't think it could do), Batman dove the side again, just in time to catch a jagged mace to his chest. Beastboy had transformed into an ankylosaurus mid-air, rotating to smash his opponent with its long, clubbed tail. Gotham's Protector was thrown back with the force of the strike sliding along the floor before hitting the cold, rock wall.

'_Powerful, innovative, effective. I wonder what the limitations of his shifting are.' _Grimacing, he got to his feet in time in time to see a seven meter long cobra lung for his throat. With perfect timing and reflexes, Batman threw out a hand and caught the snake behind the back of the head in a flawless grip. However, the snake quickly shrunk to a fly, escaping his grasp, flying a short way up and then morphed to a 700 pound tiger which flew towards him, claws outstretched.

Acting quickly, Batman rolled underneath the flying beast, which twisted in the air to land facing him before reverting back to its more human form. Placing a hand to his chest, Batman frowned. That had hurt and he wasn't exactly in the best fighting condition at the moment. Best to end this.

Standing straight and placing both hands on his utility belt, Batman breathed deeply ignoring the throbbing pain in his chest and prepared to make his move. Beastboy waited for the forthcoming attack.

With a sudden flick, several batarangs were airborne traveling at high speed towards their intended target. The beast shrunk to the floor in the form of a fox on the perforated steel floor, just in time to receive a smoke bomb to the face. Firing his grappling hook towards the ceiling, Batman shot upwards into the darkness, then turned in time to the see the creature back in its original form stalk from the cloud of smoke, its sense of smell and sight partially obscured.

Batman released the line and threw himself down in a front flip executing an axe kick to the middle of Beastboy's back. Howling, he collapsed to the floor before turning and throwing himself at the Dark Knight_, 'durable,'_ to engage in prolonged close combat.

Batman had been in many, many fistfights before, but never one quite like this. The green titan in front of him moved seamlessly from form to form as he needed to. Instead of blocking a punch, he would simply shift shape. If a kick was about to impact, he morphed into something smaller, causing Batman to hit nothing but air, leaving him off balance and prone to a counter attack.

Twisting into a crouching leg sweep aimed at a bears lower paws, he missed completely as the limbs shrunk upwards into hummingbird, before that shifted into the form of a midair kangaroo to deliver a double straight leg kick which Batman barely managed to block.

As the minutes wore on, however, Beastboy's movements slowed. His transformations took longer, leaving him vulnerable. Batman recognised this and held back, realising that he didn't need to hurt the titan to win. Eventually, back in his original half-humanoid form, Beastboy stumbled forward to deliver a clumsy and weak straight right. Batman easily caught the fist and watched as the lids of the titan's eyes slowly shut. His whole body relaxed, before dropping to the floor out cold.

Batman watched as the huge, muscled form slowly shrunk down to reveal a naked, lanky, green teen. He started producing a loud snoring in his deep, dreamless sleep.

'_Fascinating._' The Caped Crusader thought as he picked up the light body and walked towards the partially destroyed hospital wing, making a mental note to check if he had been restrained.

* * *

This was actually a lot of fun to write. I liked doing Batman's deductions and observations, thought it worked well, you?

For anyone wondering about what road the romantic plot will take, all you need to do is view my 'favourite stories' list to know where this is going to go. However, if you want to enjoy the mystery and scheme that I'll hopefully bring to life, I would recommend the 'wait and see' approach.

Review Responses:  
EX3451 – I'm glad you liked the more relaxed tone, because things are going to slow down for a while now as I try to develop the characters a bit more. Really appreciate your faith in me and happy that someone is taking enjoyment from this. As long as I've got great reviewers like yourself keeping me straight, I think I'll be able to pull it off :) Loving the inspiring and stirring poetic exclamation at the end by the way, haha!

FF8cerberus – Catwoman isn't going to be playing much of a role in this, except for maybe some comedy later on. You don't need to worry about seeing much of her. Yeah, I quite liked how I portrayed it, pleased you approve. Haha, you want me to just send you all the plot lines I've written?

LiumD – Inspiration for using that character all goes to Jarec, check out his stuff if you haven't already.

thettbiggestfan – Thanks dude, stay tuned!

kronk95 – I aim to please :)

shugokage – I actually find it difficult to try to capture his 'half and half' mindset. I'm happy you thought it was well done.

HereForTitans – Yeah, I'm on a roll at the moment aren't I?

I appreciate the reviews!  
Take it easy,  
CJB


	8. Restless

Chapter 8: Restless

None of the titans had slept much.

Cyborg had been able to get the most, hooking himself up to his conduit charger effectively shut off over half his body, making it easy for his organic side to fall into sleep. The other three had gotten less. Starfire had been deathly worried for her friend but had been soothed by Robin's words. The titan leader himself had lain in bed, incredibly aware that a member of his team was rampaging out of control somewhere and there was nothing he could do about it. Meditation had taken up a portion of Raven's night and the rest had been spent in restless shifting and turning over, unable to get the image of Beastboy roaring at her out of her mind.

And so, four worried and sleep deprived titans found themselves at noon back in the common room at the kitchen table discussing what to do. Beastboy had not reappeared at the tower and even with Cyborg running multiple internet searches, there was no sign of him anywhere. He had even hacked into the national police network to see if he had been apprehended without any media coverage.

Nothing.

Robin breathed out slowly. He was in one of those rare positions where he didn't know what to do. And it wasn't because of an abundance of options. He genuinely had no idea of how to track or find Beastboy. He didn't like being in such a position.

"Alright, we put the word out," he stated in what he hoped was a confident tone, "Contact Titans East, inform them of the situation. We might want to consider informing the Justice League as well-"

"You really think it's that bad?" Cyborg interrupted, "I mean he's only been missing like sixteen hours, I think we should see what we can do first and then go for help if we need to."

Robin's eyes quickly moved to Raven before returning to Cyborg equally fast. He didn't want to get into another fight/discussion about his concern for Beastboy hurting people. "It's imperative we find him as soon as possible. He could be injured and exhausted, vulnerable. There's always the chance of him running into an enemy as well. In his state, he could be danger to himself and his attacker."

Ravens mouth was open and Robin was wondering if he'd gone too far when the main titan supercomputer started bleeping, indicating an incoming video call. With the thought _'saved by the bell'_ running through his mind, Robin quickly moved over to the monitor to see who was calling. He quickly translated the code the name was written in. Then sighed in exasperation. This was the last thing he needed. Still, no one refused a call from _him._

"I'll be back soon, I need to take this" Robin shouted over his shoulder as he turned for the room exit, not so much running not so much to answer the call, but to avoid his team.

As he walked slowly down the corridors of the tower towards his room, Robin wondered what the call was about. He had never once supplemented the required annual video call and Robin had felt no inclination to ever instigate a communication. In fact, now that he thought about it, he had never once contacted anyone from his previous…employment in years.

Robin sighed as he remembered leaving Gotham. It had been a cold send-off he remembered.

* * *

_Robin set his large suitcase down with a relieved sigh, feeling his shoulder twinge as he reached down. The gunshot wound had healed well over the past three months; the advanced medical technology available and his overall health and fitness had sped his recovery time considerably. However, it was still not completely healed and he really should have it in a sling but he was damned if he was going to look weak in his dramatic exit._

_Things as Batman's sidekick had been going great until the Joker had gotten lucky. Robin graphically remembered the red hot agony as the bullet had entered his shoulder and shuddered; he would never forget that. He was lucky to be alive but had thought everything would go back to normal once he had healed. The Dark Knight had had other ideas._

_Robin fought down familiar anger as he remembered being called to Bruce's study, and the subsequent meeting. Apparently his adopted father was scared for him. Scared he would get hurt. Convinced he couldn't cut it as a crime fighter. He hadn't said that directly but Robin could see it in his eyes, hear it in his tone. He didn't think he was good enough and had decided to end his protégés crime fighting career. _

_Robin's fist clenched as the image of Bruce's pitying eyes ran through his mind. He couldn't believe it. One injury, one mistake and he was cast aside like a broken batarang?! It was insulting, demeaning and most of all it hurt; because deep down he doubted himself a little bit too, though he would never admit it. His fiery pride had won out and he had decided to head out on his own as Robin to fight crime solo. _

_Bruce had been far from happy about his decision and had spent a full week trying to convince him to abandon his mad scheme. Robin had stuck it out though; the raging side of him slightly happy at seeing his mentor squirm a little. He had not expected Bruce to suddenly have a change of heart, offer him supplies, money and resources should he need it. Not a fool, Robin had accepted it as a favor that he could call in if he was in dire need. But he would never be in dire need._

_Barbara Gordon had almost convinced him to stay. As Batgirl, she and Robin had had their fair share of adventures, both in battle and in private. But things had gotten messy lately and getting away from her was an unexpected silver lining to the whole situation. _

_Robin shifted his feet uneasily, trying to get his mind off of her. He immensely regretted the way things had turned out and felt both guilt and shame over what had transpired. In his heart of hearts, he would admit that he was as much running away from her as he was striking out on his own. But he refused to think like that. This was a new beginning, a new era for him. To make his name. To become the best. He didn't need any ties to his past holding him back._

_Now, he stood awaiting a taxi to take him to a commercial flight out of Gotham. Normally he would have asked Alfred to take him to the private jet, but precautions had to be taken to preserve the identity of the Batman. Robin's resolve wavered at the thought of the Butler. He had been a second father to him, always there with a wise word or large, delicious meal. He had hugged the manservant briefly, holding back a tear before saying the final goodbye and turning to leave. He had then turned to Batman, unwilling to let his anger go and announced he would hear from him on the tenth of January, before turning to leave._

_Batgirl had not been present._

_The taxi pulled up in front of him in the cool, evening air. Raising his chin and stiffening his resolve, Robin put his suitcase in the back, got the car and left his life as a member of the batclan behind._

* * *

Six years. It had been six years since that day. It was the first time he had examined the events leading up to his dismissal, preferring instead to bury the memories. Six years since he had talked to Alfred. Robin cringed, knowing how much that must have hurt his old friend. He had been ruthless in his quest to leave his old life behind. Too ruthless, too extreme. That may also describe his reaction to Batman's dismissal. Through the magical scope of hindsight, Robin realized he may have reacted to the situation quite badly.

An image of Barbara flashed through his mind and he quickly fought it back down. He had enough to feel bad about with this whole Beastboy fiasco. He didn't need to dwell on his past screw-ups before navigating the elaborate minefield that was a discussion with Batman.

But still…

There was no time to consider that now though as he entered his room, locked the door and approached his private computer. He did, however, make a mental note to get in touch with Alfred. It had been too long.

Adjusting his mask and steeling his face and mind, Robin answered the ringing call.

Framed in darkness, the face of Batman appeared on the screen. His rugged, chiseled chin was the only sign of flesh as the rest of his face was, as always, concealed by his signature cowl. A graveled and serious voice filled the Boy Wonders ears.

"Robin."

"Batman."

"You look like hell, what's happened?"

"It doesn't matter, I'm in the middle of something here, what do you want?"

"Lost something?"

"That none of your-" Robin stopped short before his eyes narrowed, "What do you know?"

"I know that you're missing a member of your team."

Robin tried with all his might to keep his body language unchanged but couldn't stop his jaw clenching slightly. This was just what he needed. _'How the hell did he found out so soon?'_

"I'm not in the mood. What do you know and how?"

"It may be simpler to show you."

The image of Batman's face cut to a wide angle shot of a containment cell. Drooling and sprawled out on the only bed in the room was a fast asleep Beastboy. Robin couldn't keep astonishment from flitting across his face before regaining his composure.

"Explain." Batman stated as his face reappeared on the screen.

Robin turned his eyes away. He had no intention of explaining his failure as leader of the titans to his former mentor. "How did you find him?"

"Explain." Batman repeated, his voice unchanged.

Getting annoyed, Robin replied, "I can't explain without knowing how and where you came into contact with him."

Batman considered a moment before replying, "Your teammate was observed falling from the sky just outside of Gotham city at approximately 6:20am this morning. He was in a very bad condition; I estimate he fell just under a sixth of a mile before hitting the ground. He was taken back to the batcave for medical treatment, but upon arrival his injuries had healed substantially, no longer leaving him in a critical condition. As you can see now, he is still recovering. Now, explain."

Robin absorbed this information quickly. Batman had made no comment regarding Beastboy's physical appearance, implying that the green titan had reverted back to his normal form before being found. Ravens comment about his ability to heal quickly was apparently accurate as well, although Robin had assumed that capability was only accessible as the Beast or Changeling. Batman was still waiting for an answer. Robin decided to come clean. After all, he had done nothing wrong.

Starting from their very first encounter with the white monster, Robin told his adopted father the barest facts of the events that had unfolded, none of which cast Beastboy in a particularly good light. He had reached the part about Beastboy's abandonment of the team to pursue his perceived Terra when Batman interrupted.

"This being the earth manipulator? The one that betrayed your team to Slade?"

"Yes, she- How the hell do you know that?" Robin angrily barked, although he already knew.

"I conducted research on Beastboy this morning; she came up in my findings."

"You hacked our database and read our reports! Those are private!"

Batman didn't reply and Robin sagged back in his chair in defeat. He knew Batman cared nothing for privacy or boundaries. He had needed information so he had retrieved information. It was that simple to him.

"So this girl with geokinesis?"

Robin sighed and continued his story, telling Batman of Beastboy's disappearance, subsequent entrance at the recycling factory in his Changeling form and fight with the white monster. He neglected to inform the Dark Knight of what Raven had revealed about the changelings mental state, considering it too personal to disclose. He glazed over the team's confrontation with Beastboy, but admitted that he had been the one to cause the degeneration back into Changeling.

Robin averted his eyes while retelling this, but when he looked back he thought he saw a tinge of something in the face of his former mentor. He decided to call him on it.

"What?" he aggressively said.

Batman examined him for a moment before simply saying, "You've grown. Continue."

Blinking the shock from his eyes and trying to keep his face steady Robin mechanically recounted the rest of the tale, ending with Beastboy vanishing into the ocean.

"At what time was that?"

"Just before nine."

"So in approximately nine and a half hours, Beastboy traveled from Jump City to Gotham. That's quite an impressive feat."

"I'll say. It seems he can do some pretty incredible things in that condition."

"This form you've described to me, it doesn't fit the description I have of the first time an event of this nature occurred."

Robin opened his mouth to protest, but quickly shut it, recognizing it wouldn't accomplish anything. Still, he hated it when the Batman did that.

"No, we theorize his first transformation of this kind was due to exposure to chemicals containing large amounts of testosterone and adrenaline, awakening his inner beast as it were. On that occasion he changed into a form we named-"

"The Beast, yes."

Robin gritted his teeth and asked a question that had been on his mind for some time, hoping to catch his mentor out "I heard about the incident involving the Joker last night. How did you notice Beastboy falling from the sky if you were otherwise occupied fighting that bastard?"

"I did not," Batman replied, mentally bracing himself. "His fall was observed by Batgirl."

Robin tensed, his body curling forward. He struggled to maintain his air of nonchalance towards the situation. "How is she doing?" He asked in the steadiest voice he could muster.

"Who?"

"What do you mean, 'who'? Babs. How is she?" Robin asked feeling distinctly worried. Batman did not make small talk. He did not ask rhetorical questions and he certainly did not play dumb. He was being set up for something.

"Barbara ceased acting as Batgirl four years ago. Luckily, I managed to recruit a new one not long after."

Robin was struck dumb.

He felt like he'd been kicked in the gut.

By Cinderblock.

Wearing Doc Martens.

Breathing out heavily, he practically yelled at the screen, "Babs quit and you never told me?!"

"I would have gladly informed you of the team change Dick, if you had displayed any sort of interest." It was the first time he had called his prior protégé by name in years. "You can't ostracize yourself and then expect to be kept in the loop. You haven't even spoken to Alfred in years." Batman's voice was tense and hard; an incredible display of emotion.

Robin picked up on this and forcibly calmed himself. Unbidden, images of the last Batgirl leapt into his head. With effort, he kicked them out again and focused on the conversation. Bending his wounded pride, he spoke contritely.

"You're right. I was planning on contacting him after this Beastboy mess was cleaned up."

"See that you do."

"So, why did she quit?" Robin demanded.

"I'm not at liberty to say." Replied Batman, a faint, indiscernible look in his eyes.

"Oh, don't give me that bullshit. You don't give a damn about liberties and boundaries, tell me why she quit."

Batman was quiet for a moment, staring hard at the Boy Wonder. "If she choose not to tell you about her decision, I'm not going to tell you why she made it." Robin was silent. The man was right, after all. He had never even tried to contact her for all these years. He had no right to force his way back into her life.

Batman went on, "You've been gnawing on your spite like a dog with a bone for too long now Dick. You appear to have matured over the years, time to take responsibility for more than a mistake in the field. Time to realize that your actions have consequences.

Having filled his quota of outward emotion for the next month, and fed up looking weak and vulnerable, Robin's business tone returned. "What's the situation with Beastboy?"

"He is still currently asleep, suffering from exhaustion and severe muscle and bone damage. He appears to have severely shattered both shins before undertaking his journey to Gotham, which exacerbated the injuries. His body is wrecked. I tried talking with him two hours ago, but he was still drowsy from the tranquilizer, appearing to be in little pain. With his unique healing abilities, it shouldn't take more than a few days for him to fully recover for the journey back. Unless you want to come pick him up?" It was the most tentative offer he could have asked. Robin struggled with the decision for a moment. Eventually, he felt it was indeed time to reconnect with his old family, although the very thought sent dread shooting through him.

"…Sure, we'll come pick him up once he's recovered."

"Noted, I'll keep you informed." Batman seemed to hesitate before adding, "It'll be good to see you again." He signed off and screen went blank.

Robin collapsed into his chair, trying to take in all the he had just learned. The Batgirl he had known had been replaced, he was reuniting with the batclan in just a few short days and Beastboy was lying, tranquilised, in the batcave.

'_Wait a second, tranquilised? Why would he have needed to tranquilise Beastboy? Oh damn, that is so not good.'_

* * *

So yeah. Found the dialogue between Batman and Robin to come quite easily surprisingly. I did some research into the history of the two (This being Dick Grayson) and tweaked it a bit to fit.  
What do you think?

Review Responses:  
Shugokage – Cheers mate!

EX3451 – Yeah I figured that's how his brain would work. Glad you liked it. Never really got the whole harem thing in more serious fics. Can be fun in the lighter ones I guess.

Tsk91 – I tried to do him justice. He is the Batman, after all.

FF8cerberus – I'm so glad someone picked up on that! I was totally going for Sherlock Holmes when I wrote his thought process! I'm glad you're enjoying it, I aim to please.

HereForTitans – Thanks, I find that a lot of authors have unnecessarily long fight scenes and that they get boring and repetitive. Was trying to avoid that

Based Bobcat – Excellent, keep me straight on how batman acts though. Especially in these next few chapters ;)

MarsTwilight – Really happy you think so. Let me know what you think about him in this and the next few chapters. I'd really like to spend some time establishing the characters. I have quite a few ideas about future projects relating to the future of them after this story. I figure setting them up properly would be time well spent.

Thanks for checking out the story and we'll actually be getting some real Beastboy soon!  
Have a good one,  
CJB


	9. Derezzed

Chapter 9: Derezzed

Beastboy's conscience started to struggle from the darkness of sleep to the light of reality like a whale rising sluggishly through the ocean towards the surface. As he came closer to breaking through to the real world, he tried to grasp hold of the strange dream that had pervaded his slumber.

It had started with him lazily opening his eyes to find himself staring at a silver ceiling.

It was a nice ceiling, he decided.

With bleary eyes, he reached up to touch it, only to find he couldn't. In mild curiosity Beastboy looked at his chest seeing he was wearing a pretty white hospital gown. Underneath was naked.

He giggled to himself.

Overcoming his mirth, he took a closer look down at himself and observed with minor interest that three broad, leather straps held him to the comfortable bed he was lying in_. 'I appear to be restrained,'_ he noted. '_How odd._ _No matter! I am Beastboy, none can hold me!'_ he attempted to courageously shout in his best medieval accent. What actually came out was a drunken "Nome atteri! Meastboin, ninican choldne!"

He stopped in surprise at his garbled words, only to collapse into another laughing fit.

Eventually sobering and focusing his considerably impaired brain, Beastboy morphed slowly into a rat, ending up underneath his robe. As soon as the transformation was complete. He was struck by an intense tickling sensation all over his new body and opened his small mouth to squeak in a relentless, high pitched laugh. Struggling to move through his mirth, Beastboy crawled to the edge of the bed before heroically falling off, landing gracefully on his back with a thump. He reverted back to his normal form, unfortunately upside down, laughing his head off. Eventually the tickling faded and he was able to close his mouth.

His muscles were slow to respond to the commands he was sending and so it took a while for him to manoeuvre himself into sitting up, leaning back against the bed to examine his surroundings, which appeared to be swimming somehow.

One wall seemed to just be a mirror. After trying to wave to himself, falling over, breaking down into another fit of laughter and righting himself again was he able to see the other walls and floor were made of silver too. Apart from the bed, the only other object in the room was some sort of box in a top corner with fan, pumping air into the room.

As he looked down to examine the floor intently, he knew not what for, Beastboy became aware that he was in fact completely nude now. This induced another bout of laughter and he fell sideways to the floor trying to clutch his sides but failing miserably. It was at this point he had heard a voice.

"You've been injected with a major tranquilizer, a concoction of my own comprised of klonopin, diprenorphine and tranxene among other ingredients." Beastboy lifted his heavy head of the ground and observed that the mirror wall had become see-through. Standing on the other side of it was a dark figure framed by what appeared to be rock. Squinting his groggy and unfocused eyes, Beastboy tried to make out who was talking to him as the voice continued.

"It has the effect of an anti-depressant; inducing feelings of calm and relaxation as well as drowsiness and lethargy. You're currently in-

"I know hoo yu are!" Beastboy interrupted, finally recognising the form in front of him. "Yur Badman… I mean Batman!" he exclaimed victoriously. He watched as the hero slowly nodded once and a giddy elation filled him, "Heya Batman!" he shouted excitedly, waving enthusiastically at him; as happy as a child on Christmas morning, or as happy as himself on Christmas morning.

"It's clear the effects of the drugs have not ceased their effects sufficiently to engage you in intelligent conversation. You'd best get some more sleep."

"Sleep!" Said Beastboy triumphantly, proud he had made out one word. Then his head wobbled as his eyelids fell before he hit the ground, fast asleep.

* * *

It had been a weird dream.

Beastboy groaned. It felt as though there were several angry porcupines fighting inside his head. It was all he could feel; pounding away like it had its own very powerful heartbeat. Still, he felt well rested and really hungry. _'Wonder if I can beat Cy to the kitchen? Ugh, too much effort to try.'_ With another groan he rolled off his bed, falling a foot to the hard, cold floor.

Wait, hard and cold? His bedroom was carpeted.

Beastboy snapped his eyes open, momentarily confused at the sight of the steel wall in front of him. He sat up quickly, wincing at as his muscles protested loudly at the movement and his head gave a painful throb. Fighting down panic, he looked around the ten by ten foot titanium box he was in. The was a bare bulb hanging from the ceiling, a strange box in one corner and one wall was nothing but a mirror. Apart from that and the bed, there was nothing else in his cell.

"_Okay, okay, don't panic," _Beastboy said to himself as his eyes widened and his body began to tremble painfully, completely ignoring his own advice and proceeding to freak out and hyperventilate. _'Where the hell am I? And how did I get here? Kidnap? Oh God, I've been kidnapped! Why? By who? I'm going to die! Oh, I'll never get to offer to teach Starfire a language by kissing her in front of Robin! Or tell Jinx Cyborg is totally into her. Or walk straight up to Raven and kiss her like in a movie then run like hell! Alright, alright, you've been trained for this. What's the first thing to do in case of kidnap? Come on, come on, remember! …Oh yeah!'_

Wondering how his body had gotten so wrecked, Beastboy painfully pulled himself into a cross legged position with a groan; at this point realising he was wearing some kind of white gown. He frantically pushed that observation aside and closed his eyes_. "Alright, control breathing. In, Out. In, Out. Need to relax and calm down.'_ Expelling one final breath, He opened his eyes.

'_Next step; observation. Examine surrounding.' _Sweeping his eyes around his prison once more, Beastboys sharp eyes detected the outline of a door barely visible opposite him. He noted its position but learned nothing more from his visual analysis; instead he closed his eyes and drew a deep breath through his nose. Sifting through the overwhelming metallic smell of the titanium, Beastboy thought he was able to detect rock thought it was difficult to know for sure as the air was very stale_. 'So I'm most likely underground.' _He thought.

"_Alright, moving on.'_ Drudging up the lesson that had been drilled into him so very long ago, Beastboy recalled the next step_, 'Try to find out why you have been captured. Okay, I remember returning from the battle against the Brain. We were all walking downtown when that weird monster thing attacked us.' _He stopped for a moment as the memory of the thing rang a bell deep in his mind. He furrowed his brow for a moment before giving up chasing the memory._ 'Alright, we were fighting the monster and then I saw Terra…'_

Beastboy's eyes widened as it all came rushing back.

His frantic search for her, his joy at finally finding her, showing her around the tower and eventually the confrontation at the school. Beastboy physically winced at the memory of the pain of her rejection. Things got a bit cloudy from that point on, he could remember nothing after sprinting out of the high school.

_'Then what happened?'_ It annoyed him that he couldn't recall anything. That had only happened to him once, when had become…'_Oh, no.'_

He had become the Beast.

'_Damn, damn, DAMN! I probably went on a rampage and had to be forcibly stopped. Now I'm most likely in some sort of military prison or something. Either that or the guys had to stop me, damn that would have sucked. Crap.'_ Beastboy held his head in his hands, appalled. He couldn't believe that had happened again. He thought that entire problem was behind him, that he had control of it.

With a heavy sigh of resignation, Beastboy reflected that at least he hadn't been kidnapped and he wasn't going to die after all_. 'Always a good thing. Never seen these holding cells before, must be new. Why am I wearing a hospital gown? Oh, I bet it's because I got injured when I got taken down and they had to treat me before sticking me in prison. Maybe I should try to escape. Got nothing better to do and I could fly on back to the tower. Nah, probably shouldn't do that. I know; I'll just walk about until I meet someone, should be good for a laugh.'_

Beastboy stood painfully, realising that he must have done battle with someone as the Beast when his body painfully cried out. His legs in particular felt like they could just fall apart. Gazing around the cell, he wondered just how to go about escaping. The joints on the walls were incredibly smooth, like they had been melted together so no chance to hitting a structurally weak spot. Besides, he was in no position to morph. Every cell in his body seemed to throb with aches and pain. Nope, definitely not morphing.

Then he spotted the odd box in the top right corner of the cube and waddled painfully over to examine it. On the underside was a slowly turning fan._ 'Must be the air supply, I could fly through it as a moth or something.'_

"It's no use."

Beastboy whirled around, almost falling over as his legs reacted painfully and threatened to fold. The gravely, flat voice was coming from behind the mirror. If all the crime and detective shows he watched had taught him anything, then it was probably one-way glass. Whoever was on the other side could see him, but all he could see was himself. The voice continued.

"You're in a cell specifically designed to contain a shapeshifter. It is completely airtight, made of polymerised titanium and two inch thick carbon fibre reinforced glass. The air conditioning unit you were just examining works in a closed circuit air current, there is no way to escape through it."

Beastboy's trademark goofy half smile appeared on his face as he stared at his reflection.

"And all this for little old me? I'm flattered."

"I designed and produced the hold in case I never needed to contain Clayface. It seemed the only prison cell to be able to hold you."

The smile slid from the green titans lips. A look of confusion and thought took its place.

"Clayface…" He muttered to himself, "Rings a bell. Not to be rude, but who are you by the way? Some new commissioner I've never heard of before? And why would you need to build a prison to contain an enemy we've never fought?"

There was no answer, but suddenly the mirror became clear revealing a cloaked figure standing in the shadow, surrounded by dark rock. Beastboy let out a large sigh.

"Dammit, you're a bad guy aren't you? Crap, how do I get into these messes?"

"It's astonishing Robin never insisted you were educated on all known villains and their usual areas of operation. Quite astonishing."

"And of course you know I'm a titan, meaning this was all some overly complex plot to kidnap me. That narrows down the list of suspects." Beastboy was beginning to get genuinely afraid and also ferociously angry and sought to bury his emotion under bravado. "Come on out Slade," he bit out, "what's some darkness between mortal enemies, eh?"

The figure stepped forward into the light.

Beastboy hit the floor, mouth open in a dead faint.

* * *

"So that's the situation guys. Beastboy is currently drooling in one of Batman's holding cells after falling out of the sky just outside Gotham where he was rescued by a brand new Batgirl that I have never heard about!" His eyes shifted quickly from side to side and he cleared his throat, regaining his composure before adding "Any questions?"

Sitting around the couch he surveyed his team. Hidden beneath her hood, Ravens expression was unreadable. Her widened eyes were the only indication of a reaction, although a nearby lamp had exploded when he had said Beastboy was alright. Starfire beamed in happiness at her friend's safety, levitating gently a few inches above the settee, hands clasped in front of her chest. Cyborg was as completely rigid, unbelief on his face and the sheer surrealism of the situation Beastboy was in.

Getting no reply, Robin continued. "Beastboy is currently healing quickly and should have recovered completely from his injuries in a few days. Batman will keep us updated and when he's ready we'll fly over and pick him up."

"He travelled to Gotham in one night?" Cyborg exclaimed, "How is that even possible?"

Robin shrugged and leaned back into the sofa, "It seems that as the Changeling, he can do a lot of stuff we never thought he could."

"And he's in the batcave the lucky sprout, I wonder if he'll get to see the batmobile!" Cyborg groaned in jealousy.

"Oh, it is so joyous that our friend is unharmed and shall be with us soon!" Starfire cried as she flew into the air somersaulting in her joy. Robin smiled at the sight. "Oooh!" she said, a new idea occurring to her. "Perhaps he will introduce us to his valiant rescuer!"

The smile slid from Robins face as again the face of Barbara Gordon flashed before his eyes. Rising quickly, he turned to go saying, "Well, if that's all I'm going to hit the training room so-" His body was stopped forcibly by a glowing black aura that lifted him clean off his feet and set him back down on the couch.

"No, that will not be all," stated Raven as the ebony cloud dissipated. "How badly injured is he?"

Robin gave her an annoyed look before answering, "Batman said 'his body is wrecked.' It seems he severely cracked both shins before traveling all the way to Gotham and those two injuries are the most severe. They were probably further worsened by his disastrous skydive." He saw Ravens eyes narrow and mentally kicked himself. He pressed on, "Other than that he is suffering from chronic fatigue and severe muscle tearing. However, he's in no real danger."

"I could teleport over there, heal him and bring him back," Raven suggested.

"No, you wouldn't know where to teleport to and I can't tell you without revealing Batman's identity."

Raven nodded, then looked away and remained quiet.

"What exactly did you tell Batman about the whole event?" Cyborg asked.

"I had to tell him everything. Oh don't give me that look, he'd already hacked our database and read all about Beastboy's experiences as the Beast. He even knew about Terra and her betrayal." Robin looked around at the outraged faces. "Yeah, I know but trust me when I say it'll go no farther than him and the only thing we can do is improve our cyber security. Will you get on that as soon as possible Cyborg? Good.

"Anyway, I told him all about Beastboy as Changeling. He seemed unusually… curious about the whole thing to be honest," Robin thought aloud, brow furrowed. He had never known his mentor to be so interested in something like this. But he supposed if a foreign hero crash landed outside the tower he wold want to know everything about them as well.

"Okay then, now that we got that sorted I'm going to go train. Cyborg I still want that chemical analysis done as quickly as possible."

"Of course O mighty and wise dictator!" Cyborg pompously shouted leaping from the couch and stooping into an overly deep bow that the human body was not designed to perform.

Robin shot him a dirty look and left. At which point Cyborg carried on.

"Ya gel-haired traffic light," he muttered sinking back into the couch, thankful that his insults had not registered with Starfire as she was still flying around the ceiling. He waited for the usual agreement and joke from Beastboy, but was disappointed. "Ah, it's not the same making fun of him without Beastboy," He complained getting up to leave.

Raven was soon left alone as Starfire followed him out, undoubtedly to go see Robin. In the unnatural silence that followed, Raven realised that Cyborg was right.

It wasn't the same without Beastboy.

* * *

Next time – a gamechanger  
Thanks for reading! Can't tell you how much of a boost it is to know people are enjoying my writing. All reviews, favourites and follows are greatly appreciated :)

Review Responses:  
FF8Cerberus – I'm struggling with Robin actually. I'm not trying to paint him as an evil dictator; more as a somewhat paranoid control freak. I do have an arc planned out for him that does involve some serious reality checks, but my ultimate goal is to make you come around to him.

EX3451 – Yeah, I'm going to have to spend some time developing her as well. Really looking forward to writing Alfred!

Shugokage – Cheers

Kronk95 – I totally agree man. 'awome' :)

I'm going to try to get these out faster as I have free time over Easter! Happy Easter by the way!  
Catch ya' later,  
CJB


	10. Crystalize

Chapter ten: Crystalize

Beastboy was awakened by a wet towel connecting sharply with the side of his face.

"Oww, dude! What the heck?!" he exclaimed rising into a sitting position and rubbing his face. It was at this point he noticed the Batman standing directly over him, head framed in the halo from a ceiling light behind him.

Beastboy's eyes bulged and his mouth dropped open, in complete shock. "You…you're b-b-Batman." He stammered pointing a green finger up at the cloaked hero.

"Indeed and you are Beastboy, correct?"

"Y-yes…sir."

Batman motioned for him to follow him, before turning and walking out of the now open cell door. Oddly enough, he was looking forward to interrogating the green titan. His unique battle with the changeling had been interesting to say the least and he was strangely curious to know more about the teen and his abilities. Of course it helped that for the first time ever, Catwoman had shown her feline face two nights in a row and mere hours ago, he had been removing her leather costume in preparation for an encore performance. Batman shook a pleased look from his face.

It took a second for the stunned Beastboy to recover from his shock. He jumped up, or at least tried to; his legs gave way beneath him and he fell back to the ground with a sharp groan. Rising more carefully, he hobbled to the edge of the cell and stepped out of it wincing and looked around. The cube was located in a roughly hewn cavity in the solid rock with a single passageway carved out of the stone running away from the prison.

Beastboy noticed a pair of crutches leaning against the side of the reinforced prison cell and grabbed them gratefully before staggering down the corridor after the vanished Batman. His white hospital gown fluttered behind him as he hopped down the passageway, trying to make sense of what was going on._ 'Wait a minute, does this mean I'm in the- Oh my God…'_

The passage ended abruptly and Beastboy was greeted with an incredible view of the most infamous cave in the world. His eyes bugged out as he took in the huge supercomputer on the main floor, the decked out training area next to him and in the distance, he nearly fell over, a circular disk bearing the weights of all the bat vehicles. The only enclosed space he saw was a low metal structure, the front of which was smashed open.

Barely breathing, he limped forwards, mouth open at the overwhelming sight. He turned a full circle, "Awesome," he breathed. A firm cough came from his right. Turning, he saw the Batman himself in standing next to what appeared to be the kitchen. He was holding two black mugs and obviously meant for him to join him.

Extremely nervous and trying not to sweat, Beastboy shambled forward as Batman took a seat at the table and pushed the chair opposite him out with his legs. With anyone else it would have been an invitation to sit. With him, it was an order. Beastboy obeyed, leaning his crutches against the table and painfully sitting down.

"Rule one," Batman spoke without preamble, "You do exactly what I say when I say it. Understood?"

Though taken aback and having no idea what was going on, Beastboy possessed enough sense to nod solidly.

"Rule two – You do not touch the computer, vehicles, lab, shooting range or anything else you have even the smallest amount of doubt over operating. Understood?"

Beastboy had heard similar rules many times before. He had not always followed them, but felt it would wise to in this case. He nodded again.

"Rule three – You do not go through any doors, unless it's to the bathroom or medical bay. Understood?

Beastboy felt it best to simply nod again.

"Any questions?"

Beastboy resisted the urge to raise his hand and was about to blurt _out 'Yeah, what the hell's going on?'_ but realised he was in the presence of the one and only Batman. He cast his mind back to the way he had spoken to his old boss Mento and decided that would have to be an adequate way to talk to the Dark Knight in front of him. "Yes," he said, "What's going on…sir?"

Batman began speaking immediately as though he had known the question was coming. "It's 12 pm on the 13th of September. Early yesterday morning you were observed falling from the sky just outside of Gotham city. You were taken back here were you received medical attention. Approximately five hours later, you underwent a transformation and broke out of the medical bay as you can see."

Beastboy followed Batman's head nod the partially wrecked bungalow type structure he had noticed earlier. His confusion turned to a dreading understanding. "I did that?" he breathed in disbelief. Batman carried on.

"Immediately after, you attacked me." Batman stopped to judge the green titans reaction. He tensed rigidly, mouth open and eyes bugging. Batman had suspected he wouldn't remember much of his time as, as Robin had called him, the Changeling. However he had not expected complete and utter amnesia of the event, which was clearly what Beastboy was exhibiting now.

"I," whimpered Beastboy not realising he was pointing at himself, "attacked… _you_?" He said reverently. There was no reaction from batman who disliked repeating himself. "No wonder I hurt so much," Added Beastboy, chuckling weakly; his natural comedic side coming through, even under the circumstances.

"You eventually passed out from a tranquiliser that was administered to you, after which you were placed in the cell you woke up in. You've been unconscious and on an IV drip for the past 24 hours. During that time, I contacted Robin. We agreed that you would recover here for a few days before your team collects you, thus the rules."

Beastboy was still too stunned by the revelation of his attack on THE BATMAN to respond much. He decided to put his extraordinary apologising skills, honed by six years with Raven, to good use.

"I-I'm _really_ sorry for a-attacking y-you," he stuttered, mouth dry "and destroying your hospital." He added for good measure. Batman stared back at him and he desperately tried to keep his bowels from moving.

"That's not poisoned, you know." He simply responded, ignoring the question.

Beastboy looked down, confused to find a mug in front of him. Eager to please/pacify, he picked it up, sniffing it before bringing it to his lips. Batman raised an eyebrow, barely visible under his mask and Beastboy realised what he had done. "Sorry, sorry! Nothing but a habit, I swear! It's not that I don't trust you or anything or am afraid of a very painful punishment for wrecking your-"

"Where did you pick that up?" Batman inquired, cutting his rambling off.

The boy before him did not seem the type to check all food given to him for poison.

Embarrassed, Beastboy replied hesitantly, well aware that the hero in front of him would see through any flimsy excuse, "Ehh… it was just a reflex drilled into me a long time ago; I never really stopped doing it."

Intrigued, Batman stored that little nugget of information away for later. He had been unable to uncover any of the shapeshifter's past before the titans, but then he hadn't had time to conduct a thorough search.

Beastboy sniffed again, a thoughtful look on his face and Batman immediately paid attention. There was no need for him to smell the beverage twice, one inhalation more than enough to identify it was nothing more than hot chocolate. The only other explanation was that he recognised some other scent and was trying to place it, judging from his expression.

Batman watched intensely as a number of emotions crossed Beastboy's face. First deep concentration as he smelled again, not the drink this time but the air. Next a moment of satisfaction as he found what he was looking for, immediately followed by extreme confusion.

Then realisation.

This then slowly changed to full on terror as his eyes slowly moved from the mug to Batman. The Dark Knight realised only one explanation fit all the evidence.

He narrowed his eyes at Beastboy, who almost fell off his chair. Steadying himself, he forcibly relaxed his face resulting in a hideous expression while his eyes still screamed with alarm.

"What did you just recognise?' Batman asked slowly.

Beastboy's adams apple bounced as he swallowed, "I don't know what you're talking abo- He spluttered.

"What did you just recognise?" The hard voice demanded again.

Beastboy yelped before answering the quietest voice he had ever used. "I think I j-just found out who y-you are." He managed to peep out, slowly flinching away from the Dark Knight as if he expected an immediate physical punishment.

Batman hadn't moved, keeping the same body and face position as before. Without the slightest change in his voice he said, "Take a deep breath and explain."

Beastboy did as he was told and breathed deeply in before exhaling violently. Then he looked down and addressed his mug.

"T-this isn't my first time in Gotham. When I was… out of work I ended up here and holed up for a few months. It was easy to stay out of sight and find food. One night I was flying over the city and saw something was happening at the big ballroom near the city centre. Big events in places like that usually meant food so I snuck in as a fly.

"The event going on was a fundraiser for The-" He stopped and glanced up at Batman. He gave no response. Beastboy again focused on the cup in front of him and continued. "The W-Wayne Foundation. After I had snuck some of the food out from the buffet table, I noticed a fight going on. I watched it and noticed one of the people involved was Bru-the owner of the foundation. I was interested and went to get a closer look as a mouse." Beastboy chanced a look up at the terrifying figure in front of him. The intense look he received sent his eyes right back down to his mug and he continued.

"I remember noting that there was something odd about the man. He was acting drunk but I couldn't smell any alcohol coming off him. That's why he stuck in my mind and I remember his scent so well…" Beastboy trailed off, hoping the still unmoving batman before him would catch on.

Batman had suspected Beastboy had recognised his scent since he sniffed the air the second time. Usually, he wore an odour erasing deodorant in case he ran into Killer Croc or some other villain, or indeed hero that would be able to identify his scent. Batman quickly realised that his earlier session with Catwoman had caused him to sweat copiously and that the very act of love making had released pheromones bearing his unique scent signature in several glands. The combined effect had overpowered his cover up fragrance and revealed his own, allowing Beastboy to identify it.

Batman frowned beneath his cowl. The worst part was that there was no way of dissuading Beastboy from his discovery. People who recognised his voice could be convinced they had heard wrong. The same went for those who had caught a glimpse of his face. But a hero who had trusted and relied on his nose his entire life wasn't going to be swayed that easily. Batman could see it on his fearful face now. There was no deceit there. He had told the entire truth, Batman had detected no change in the fluctuations in his radial artery, nor had he displayed any micro-expressions indicating lying. Additionally, he had described Bruce's standard party exit perfectly.

There was no doubt.

Batman rose from the table quickly, time was on his side. Beastboy wasn't going anywhere. "We'll talk later."

Beastboy watched, mouth open, as the Caped Crusader walked towards one of the exits a red beam projecting from above the doorframe scanning him as he approached.

"Batgirl should be down later." He threw over his shoulder as he disappeared behind the door with a swishing of his cape.

Beastboy's mouth dropped, impossibly, even lower as he mouthed,

'_Batgirl?'_

* * *

Dun, Dun, Duuuu!

Not entirely happy with this chapter as it's a big moment in the story and I'm not sure I captured it very well. Comments and criticisms appreciated, welcomed and wanted.

I'm now officially back to work, so I'm afraid updates will be less frequent. However, I shall endeavour to work on!

Review Responses:  
EX3451 – This story is going to revolve around the titans. Beastboy may be the main character in this story but I'm definitely not going to be forgetting about the rest of the titans. In fact, quite a lot of upcoming work planned will deal with the titans and how they respond to the situation.

Shugokage – I appreciate it!

Tsk91 – I thought so :)

FF8Cerberus – Hmm, I'll have to work this out carefully. Thanks for that.

WholocksAndPonies – ROAR

MarsTwilight – Cheers.

Iamking – Does the 'king' in your name come from the tekken character? And yes, I do get it. In Raven's words, 'You're a genius.' :)

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you had a pleasant Easter and got more eggs than I did which isn't difficult as I got zero. Damn, I feel old.  
Later,  
CJB


	11. A Whole New World

Chapter ten: A Whole New World

Hours later, Beastboy had explored the entirety of the batcave, much to his delight. He had gazed at the batmobile for well over twenty minutes, lost in the beautiful power of its curves and grinning at the thought of Cyborg's face when he heard about it. He had examined the supercomputer for around ten seconds before deciding that yes, it was a large computer. He stayed true to the rules, however and didn't touch a thing, unwilling to incite the wrath of Batman, especially after his discovery.

Beastboy was well aware that he was absolutely right in linking Batman to Bruce Wayne. He never forgot a scent. And he was fairly sure that Batman knew it. What he didn't know was what the heck was going to happen now. Batman wasn't just going to let him head on back to the tower, was he? Maybe he would wipe Beastboy's memory or something, like in _'Men In Black'_?

Beastboy had no idea what was going to happen but he wasn't really one to brood and worry, so he had just forgotten about it, figuring that whatever would happen would happen. And so he found himself at seven thirty in the evening (judging by the large clock built into the solid rock) preparing some dinner for himself, not having seen a soul since Batman had left, except a couple of bats.

After searching the extremely large, well-stocked fridge twice, he had been dismayed to discover not a trace of tofu. Batman, it seemed, was not a vegetarian. Avoiding the large amounts of meat (thinking again of how much Cyborg would love it here) He had taken out some tomatoes, a cucumber, lettuce, bell pepper, avocado and some spinach and started making himself a salad.

After awkwardly dicing and cutting his ingredients, half leaning on a single crutch, Beastboy threw them all in a bowl and poured some Greek dressing with lemon juice on top. Then he grabbed a fork and a glass of water and ambled over to the living area which consisted of a sofa, some comfy chairs and a large flat screen TV hanging on the solid rock surface. He fell onto the couch heavily, then remembered where he was and got up into a normal seating position.

He located the remote, turned on the television and started eating, feeling decidedly uncomfortable. _'This is so messed up. I am sitting on Batman's sofa, eating Batman's food and watching Batman's tv.'_ There was something else though. Beastboy shifted uncertainly on the coach, his eyes surreptitiously scanning the area while his nose sniffed the air. There was a sort of prickling sensation on the back of his neck and a light tenseness around his shoulders. Beastboy was not by nature a suspicious or paranoid person but he could have sworn he was being watched.

However the familiar sounds of television soon eased his mind into some sense of normality and he guessed he was just reacting to the strange new environment. Chewing on some lettuce, Beastboy idly channel surfed, growing slowly frustrated as all he found were 24 hour news channels; dozens of them. Eventually they ended and he and started through the regular ones, feeling some welcome familiarity as he recognised some shows. Lazily, he wondered what would be an appropriate program for the Dark Knight to walk in on him watching. Probably not the Chuck Norris film that was currently playing. Beastboy sighed and reluctantly changed over to a nature documentary, which he enjoyed anyway and settled down to eat.

* * *

Concealed in the shadows of the roof of the cave, Batgirl observed the green boy as he ate. She had been watching him for the last hour, as he had finished exploring the extensive training area and gym before making something to eat.

Batgirl had been awakened the previous morning by the sharp sting of smelling salts filling her nose to a pounding headache and egg shaped lump on the back of her head.

Batman had not been sympathetic.

Standing beside her bed in the partially wrecked hospital he had required she explain the events of Beastboy's transformation in detail including his escape and her subsequent incapacitation. She had done so and then asked where he was now, to hear that he was sleeping in cell B and that she was not to go near him until further notice. Batman had volunteered no more information and had left in silence, leaving her to tend herself.

The day had been spent sleeping, eating and training; the three main activities that dominated her sunlit hours. However, she had been unable to stop thinking about what had happened earlier that day and the green boy/monster that now resided in a prison block. After spending the night sleeping instead of out on her usual patrol, Batgirl had awakened in full health and again lost herself in training and the mansion gym, but made sure to watch carefully for any sign of Batman or their green guest.

She had noticed Batman coming back up from the Batcave earlier and had tried to talk to him, but he had brushed her off completely and withdrawn to his bedroom. Curious at what had caused him to adopt such a mood, she reasoned it must have had something to do with the shape shifting boy.

So she had donned her suit, applied her odour-erasing spray and snuck into the batcave through one of the many concealed entrances. Then had grappled up to the ceiling silently and watched the fascinating specimen that had knocked her out the day before; something few people could claim.

To her surprise, he was back in the form she had first found him in early the previous morning, lying broken in a field. He was no longer the huge, snarling animal he had transformed into in the hospital bay. She watched him closely as he cut awkwardly vegetables and limped across to the coach, trying to learn what she could about him. It was difficult though. While she able to quickly discern he was still injured and in considerable pain, that he was right handed and so on, she couldn't make out much else.

People usually gave a lot away about themselves by the way they moved or conducted themselves or held their face. The human body was like a book to Batgirl, detailing much about the individual.

However, it was like this boy's book was written in a different language.

She had never seen anybody twitch an ear before, she hadn't known that were even possible, let alone what it meant. Nor had she observed a person stand so lightly on their feet. From what she could make out, Beastboy was putting remarkably little weight on his heels; instead he rested on the balls of his feet, perpetually balanced, as if ready to move quickly at a moment's notice. She supposed this could be a reaction to the pain in his legs and standing like that was less painful but she didn't think so; the stance looked too natural. Did that say he was paranoid? Judging by the look of relaxation on his face, probably not. However she could detect a faint tightness in his body posture, although that was most likely nerves and unease from his unfamiliar surroundings and recent events. But even that was just guesswork. She had no idea what his body was saying.

It intrigued her.

Her observation continued as he sat of the sofa and started watching a nature documentary. It was then she made the connection. The playing gray wolf cubs drew her attention, the mother flicking her ears as one leapt at her and bounced off the wide flank. Maybe Beastboy twitching his ear was a sign of annoyance. She made a mental note, pleased with her discovery. She had found a translator.

It appeared Beastboy's connection to the animal kingdom reached further than just transforming his body. Some part of him was inherently animalistic. Batgirl made a mental note to research the origin of the green boys powers. Perhaps she would ask Batman later on about him.

As if he had heard her mental mention of him, Batman suddenly swept into the batcave fully costumed, coming in through the main door without a sound. He crossed quickly to the computer system and starting typing. Hearing the sudden sound of typing behind him, Beastboy turned around in his seat, realised who it was and immediately shrunk down into the coach, trying to hide despite the tv still showing a stalking tiger behind him.

Beastboy had no idea what to do. He had slept in the batcave, ate Batman's food and watched his tv and repaid him with finding out his secret identity. Granted, that hadn't really been his fault but it still wasn't much of a thank you. What should he do? Approach and apologise again? Nope, didn't have the courage. Best just to continue watching the tv and pray he healed quickly so he could escape and fly home.

"Batgirl come down."

Beastboy almost fell over in his scramble to turn around. Eventually turning, he peeked over the top of the couch. His eyes widened at what he saw.

Batgirl was airborne. Arms spread wide and one leg pulled up in front of her as she dropped gracefully from the ceiling of the cave. The long, ebony cape flowed behind her elegantly; it's ragged and torn ends flapping chaotically. Beastboy took in the jet black, skin-tight suit that clung to a tall, attractive and muscled frame, a yellow utility belt gripping her slim waist. Glancing up he saw a yellow rimmed bat logo stamped on her ample chest. His jaw dropped open slightly. He then reached her face and recoiled a little. Batgirl's entire head was covered in a bat-eared mask. Beastboy's keen eyes made out thin stitches crisscrossing over her mouth, but failed to see her eyes, hidden behind a dark covering.

'_Dayyyum.'_ Thought Beastboy, _'That is one scarily hot bat.' _She landed softly next to Batman and they started talking in low voices, something about the patrol they were going to run. Beastboy retreated back behind the sofa. _'So that's Batgirl. I wonder why Robin never mentioned her? Maybe they once had a thing? I wonder what she looks like under that mask. How old is she? Does she like tofu? I wonder if-' _

"Beastboy."

"Dahh!" Beastboy flinched away from the voice directly behind him, falling straight off the couch onto the cold floor as he scrambled to get away. He turned and looked up, seeing Batman standing behind the sofa, watching him intently. Behind him stood Batgirl, unreadable in her mask.

"You appeared to suffer little pain during that well-handled response," The Dark Knight noted drily. "You seem to be continuing to heal at a slightly accelerated rate. How do you feel?

Beastboy blinked, it took a moment for him to find his voice, large green eyes flicking from one bat to the other. "Eh… my legs still hurt and it generally aches all over but apart from that I feel fine."

Batgirl turned and walked away and Beastboy seemed to deflate. He suddenly felt exhausted. "Which bed is mine by the way, I could really use some sleep" he asked in a defeated voice, gesturing to a row of functional bunk beds pushed up against a cold, rock wall.

"You will spend the night in cell B as before. I cannot risk you losing control unrestrained again. I will install a voice activated sensor, allowing you to open the door when you awaken."

Beastboys eyes and head lowered in shame. "I…I understand," he choked out.

"Come with me." Batman turned and walked towards the familiar rock passage. Beastboy sighed shakily, rose from the floor, grabbed his crutches and limped after him. He scanned the room as he went.

Batgirl had vanished.

Confused, he made a special effort and caught up to Batman following behind as they walked through the darkened underground, tunnel. Uncomfortable and nervous, his curiosity fought with his instinct for self-preservation. As always, curiosity won. He decided to just go for it. Albeit in his 'polite' voice.

"E-Excuse me, but have I offended Batgirl in some way?"

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, she sort of ignored me completely. Usually people stop and stare."

"Batgirl is probably still wary of you." Batman said simply,

"Wary of me? Why would she be…?" He breathed out deeply as a thought occurred to him. He swallowed and asked shakily, "She wasn't around yesterday morning, was she?"

"Batgirl was the one who observed your fall, called Alfred and had you taken to the batcave medical bay. She was at your side when you underwent your transformation and administered a tranquiliser before you knocked her unconscious.

"Sshhhhiiiiiiiiiittttt," breathed Beastboy in an uncommon display of swearing. His head dropped as he struggled to stem the influx of self-hatred and guilt flaring in his chest. _'What the hell's wrong with me?_' he thought bitterly. "I don't blame her. Sh-she seemed alright though." He suggested hopefully to Batmans back.

"Nothing but a contusion on the rear of her head. You showed her more mercy than me."

Not knowing how to respond to that, Beastboy fell quiet basking in a cocktail of relief, despair and guiltiness, until it got the better of him. "Could you apologise to her for me? I really am sorry. I… I don't know what's wrong with me." He admitted, feeling the hot sting of tears behind his eyes which he blinked away furiously. This entire situation was so screwed up; he should never have even been here.

'_But I am. And I can't change that. Suck it up man!'_ He chastised himself. He would not cry in front of the Batman.

They arrived at the cell. Batman walked over to the door and began to interact with a small computer screen next to it. He turned to Beastboy, "After the beep, say one or two words loudly and clearly. This will be your key to unlocking the cell door from the inside. Your alter ego was not capable of speech so if you do transform there will be no way to activate it." A moment later, a beep sounded.

Beastboy barely looked up, but imagined himself inside the cell trying to get out, what would he say? He spoke, ignoring the tightness in his throat and hating knowing that Batman would notice.

"Let me out."

Batman's lips twitched as he ending the recording phase.

The door slid open and Beastboy immediately entered, head down and body tensed, a strange look on his face. This did not go unnoticed.

"Problem?" Batman said

Beastboy didn't turn around. He took a deep breath and exhaled before answering, "I just don't like cages very much." He said in a tone that suggested he was talking from experience, and Batman noticed the use of the term 'cage.'

Batman considered. He spent had spent most of the day deliberating over the green hero in front of him. His analysis ended and he spoke.

"If I said I might be able to help you, what would you say?"

Beastboy turned slowly, mouth open, a shocked look in his eyes, mixed with hope and sheer disbelief.

"How?" he breathed.

"What would you say?" the Dark Knight repeated, eyes penetrating the titan.

Beastboy thought before answering. A rarity.

"I would say please do. I'll take all the help I can get. I need it."

Batman examined his response, before answering decisively.

"We'll talk tomorrow."

* * *

So I'm afraid not much happened in this chapter but more plot and character development to come!

Review Responses:

Shugokage – One good turn deserves another!

EX3451 – Don't like chocolate?! Blasphemy!  
Excellent, entertainment is the main goal after all. I toyed with the idea of BB causing a scene and messing some stuff up, but I'm trying to portray him as slightly more mature and given the circumstances I figured him leaving everything alone was a bit more realistic.

FF8cerberus - I think BB uses humour as a defense mechanism like Chandler from 'Friends.' I do have a long character arc planned out for him that reveals what's underneath but for now he's the same person he was in the 'Everything Changes' episode.

Alec33 – Thanks for the comments man, much appreciated. This one definetly has some potential for length, rest assured and I'm sorry that you now have to wait for next chapters. Drives me mad as well!

MarsTwilight – That is fantastic to hear. I'm telling you – evoking any sort of reaction from the reader is every author's goal. I'm glad I accomplished that.

Thanks for reading and as always comments and criticisms alike are appreciated. It's one of the things I like best about this site – you can interact with authors and readers alike and even influence them. More people should make use of it!  
Ta ta for now!  
CJB


	12. Hold Your Colours

Chapter eleven: Hold Your Colours

Batgirl watched Batman sweep from the entrance to cell B over towards the supercomputer wondering what he could possible want to talk to her about. Earlier he had merely said that they would be leaving early tonight to go check out a possible lair of the Joker.

After nearly two years living with Batman, Batgirl knew how to read him. They never went on a normal patrol together because it was inefficient as they covered less ground and when they did work together, it was whenever Batman knew for certain she would be needed. But he never took her on hunches.

The only explanation was that he wanted to talk to her and she had a suspicion that it had something to do which the hero he had just locked into a veritable prison cell. She observed him closely as he calculated the fastest route to the abandoned factory that had once produced joke shop merchandise. Batman was the hardest person to read. He was always so tight, so controlled that it was unnatural. Nevertheless, she persevered.

She watched as he typed in the address of the factor at over 80 words per minute and observed that he had to backspace once to correct a mistake. Most irregular. This suggested that he lacked his usual intense focus and his mind was elsewhere. His slightly elevated head position confirmed this as to attain maximum efficiency when typing he always kept the keyboard in the very bottom of his peripheral vision. No doubt, something was on his mind.

He quickly sent the tracked out route to the batmobile and turned to walk towards it. Batgirl followed. They quickly entered the supercar and went through the usual routine of the hydraulic lift lowering down before accelerating off down one of the multiple underground lanes. Recalling the map she had seen on the computer, batgirl knew their route first directed them to a second, smaller batcave that was maintained in case of emergency and also for convenience. As they turned onto the underground road that took them directly there, she calculated it would take just under ten minutes to reach it.

As she had thought, Batman spoke. As usual, there was no warmth, tact or consideration. Just facts and demands.

"After Beastboy knocked you unconscious, he broke out of the hospital wing and attacked me."

Batgirl frowned. She was still not over the fact that she had been taken out so easily. Something like that hadn't happened since she was 7 years old. She had accepted the fact that she had been tired, distracted and dealing with an animal shape-shifter, something she had never fought before, but she still saw no reason for her failure. As for Beastboy attacking Batman, she had already assumed as much.

"What you might not know," Batman said, as if reading her thoughts, "Is that our fight lasted six minutes and only ended when he fell unconscious due to the tranquiliser you administered to him."

Batgirl raised her eyebrows beneath her mask, surprised that Beastboy had lasted that long with the drug in his veins and engaging batman. It was impressive, but not quite enough to make her feel better.

"Furthermore, he got me. "Batman said with coldness in his tone. He took failure, even one hit, even worse than Batgirl. "Cracked a rib."

Her mouth dropped open. No one got him. Yes, it was a fairly minor injury but the last time he had been that hurt was in a one-on-one fistfight with Killer Croc. For Beastboy to have even laid a hand on the Batman, let alone crack a rib, was nothing short of extraordinary. The fact that he had so easily rendered her unconscious didn't seem quite so bad now.

"I watched the playback from the camera in the hospital bay and I don't think you really saw what form he took. Here." The small screen on the dashboard lit up under Batman's touch and displayed an image taken from a camera in the corner of the medical bay. Batgirl stood in her battle stance facing the camera, obviously unaware of the large, hulking shape behind her. She examined the picture with interest. He was tall, almost unnaturally muscled and even though his face was darkened, there was an undeniably animalistic, feral expression on his face.

"You didn't interact with him at all today, why?"

Batgirl glanced sharply at her mentor, put off by the change of subject. Batman did not ask such casual questions. He had to have some alternate agenda for his query, but she couldn't think what. She answered honestly.

"Nervous. Slightly scared. Didn't know if he change again."

"This is only the fourth time he has assumed such a form. It is not a common occurrence. I conversed with him and he remembers absolutely nothing of his time as his alter ego. He didn't even know of your existence until you appeared in the batcave today. He asked me to apologise to you for him."

Under her mask, Batgirl's eyes widened. Partly with surprise, partly with relief. She had thought him a violent and aggressive beast when she had awoken from her attack. This had progressed into a confused opinion of him following her observation of a cheery, relaxed Beastboy for a few hours. Now it all appeared to make sense.

"It alright. Feel bad for not talking to him now."

"You watched him today. What do you think of him?"

Batgirl didn't bother with surprise at her mentors inside knowledge; she was well used to it. Still not knowing where this was going and learning nothing from a quick body language scan (he remained as closed off as ever), she answered.

"Seems nice. Happy. Curious. Heal fast. Not like meat. Strange body movement."

Silence pervaded for thirty seconds. The only sound being the batmobile's purring engine reflecting off the closed in stone. Batman spoke again.

"Cassie," he started, immediately grabbing Batgirl's attention. They never used their real names in costume. "I'm going to ask Beastboy to stay for a while."

Batgirl blinked in surprise. She had known something was up, but hadn't seen this coming at all. Mind quickly analysing, it all started to make sense. Batman had taken her grudge against Beastboy for knocking her unconscious away, persuaded her of his capability as a hero and lured her into stating how well she thought of him. In the span of five minutes, he had created a solid platform for friendship between the two. She shook her head, silently marvelling at his incredible ability to manipulate. Now she was set up to accept his announcement that Beastboy was going to 'stay a while.'

"Why?

"I see potential in him, untapped potential that is not being exploited. I believe with the correct training he can be twice as capable a hero as he is currently is. Also, I feel it will be good for you to have company your own age; it will give you a chance to improve both your social and language skills. Alfred has also been badgering me to get a hobby and Beastboy's powers intrigue me, he would be most interesting to study. Most importantly of all however, is his discovery of my identity and I need to ensure that he can be trusted with the information."

Batgirl started at the revelation. That was big news.

"How he find out?"

"Beastboy came across me as Bruce Wayne once and remembered my scent. His realisation was completely accidental. And absolute."

Batgirl's brow furrowed. She opened her mouth to ask how that was possible but shut it as she remembered the body language Batman had exhibited that morning. She quickly connected the dots and moved on to her next question.

"What about titans?" Batgirl asked, knowing he had a team back in Jump City.

"I'll contact Robin once Beastboy has made his decision. I just wanted you to know first."

Batgirl nodded. "Think he'll say yes?" she asked, unexpected hope in her chest.

Batman's eyes focused on the road as the secondary batcave came into view.

"I know it."

* * *

"Sit."

Beastboy sat down in his seat at the kitchen table in the batcave. Not having to rely on crutches he sank heavily into the chair; legs still not completely healed, not taking his eyes off the Batman who matched his gaze.

He had awakened that morning from a dreamless sleep, feeling refreshed and well. Yesterday had been spent in complete inactivity, creating a surplus of energy that had gone into healing his body that night as he slept. He had jumped out of bed and found a pair of jeans, boxers, and a plain white t-shirt waiting for him. Vaguely wondering who had been last to wear them, he had pulled them on with distaste missing his skin tight uniform. He had only been stumped by the voice activated door to his cell for fifteen minutes. Eventually getting the passphrase right, he had bounded into the empty batcave, observing it with fresh eyes and a heart full of optimism, remembering Batman's words from the night before.

Around twelve, Batman had entered and now here they were facing each other across the table. Beastboy still felt nervous in the famed hero's presence, but his good mood, hope, curiosity and excitement at the Dark Knight's statement the previous night was overpowering his apprehension. Besides, it was in his nature to joke and laugh. Not for fear induced silence.

"I'll start by making my position clear Beastboy." Batman started abruptly. "I'm offering you the chance to stay here and train." He paused to take in the shape-shifters reaction.

Beastboy was uncommonly focused. He had been astounded, astonished and amazed far too much in the past twenty-four hours and was determined to try and show some intelligence. Nevertheless, the sudden offer hit him like a ton of bricks. Questions raced through his mind, but in the brief time he had spent with Batman, he had found that the hero was always way ahead of him.

"Care to elaborate?" Beastboy slowly responded.

"I'm going to be completely honest with you; I'm not proposing this out of kindness or concern. Primarily, your powers intrigue me and I believe that with the right training, you can vastly improve your abilities. Furthermore, you know my secret identity and that is not something to be taken lightly." His eyes narrowed.

Beastboy gulped. Batman had admitted that he had been right. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing. "You said you could help me with my… transforming problem."

"No," Batman cut in, "I said I might be able to help you. While I have some theories about your 'Beast,' there is no way of telling if any are correct without your cooperation, which brings me to the terms of my proposition.

"You will be granted the status of one of the batclan for the duration of your stay. In the unlikely event that your aide as a hero is required, you will be called into action. Otherwise, you will not leave the grounds unless given permission. You will obey the rules I have already laid out except rule three – the door one." He added, seeing the titan struggling to recall which rule the third one had been. "I am not able to promise any sort of routine or continued training. You will work around me and my times.

"Also, if I am to help you, your full cooperation will be expected and required. I don't care about tact, privacy or feelings. I care about results. If I ask you something, you answer. If I tell you to do something, no matter what it is, you do it. You will be worked to within an inch of your life. You will participate in a full psychological analysis and have every aspect of your life examined, no matter how personal or secret. You're all in or you're all out. Which is it?"

Beastboy sat stunned. Even with his focus entirely on the matter at hand (well it had wandered to Batgirl briefly but he had quickly snapped out of it), that was still a lot to take in. He took a deep breath and decided to stall.

"How long will this take?"

"However long it needs to."

"What about the titans?"

"I'll contact Robin and explain the situation to them. They can have solo heroes fill your absence. This is your decision; do not take them into account."

'_So much for stalling.'_ Beastboy looked down at the stainless steel table and thought hard. On one hand this was a no-brainer. Batman was offering to train him! It was that simple, you don't turn down the Batman. But on the other hand, he would be separated from his family, his pack indefinitely. He didn't like the sound of that. He asked one final question.

"Do I have the right to leave whenever I want?"

"You can suggest it and I will consider it. Beyond that, no."

Beastboy looked up at the infamous hero, looking straight into his dark eyes. "I'm really putting myself into your hands aren't I?"

Batman met his gaze solidly, not to intimidate but more to confirm what the changeling had said. He replied crisply. "It's the only way this can work."

Taking in a deep breath, Beastboy looked away and considered. Thirty long seconds passed. Then sixty.

Eventually, he did what he always did in these situations. Followed his instincts.

Beastboy looked up, eyes strong.

"I'm in."

* * *

Anyone see that coming? What ramifications will there be?  
Had a good time writing this chapter. I was pleased with how Batman's manipulation of Batgirl went; I thought it was a pretty good realisation of how he usually works. What you think? Could have been better?  
Have a question, comment? leave it below.

Review Responses:  
Kronk95 – I like the Changeling form as well. I wondered about the idea of Beastboy willingly becoming the Beast and what effects that would have on his body. Glad you like it.

Shugokage – I like writing Batman, his dialogue comes quite easily for me.

EX3451 – Yeah, I'm going to try hard to make the transition from immature goofball to mature goofball as realistic as possible. I agree with you, keep me straight with it!  
Is 50 reviews a landmark? I actually know nothing about stuff like that. Was pretty chuffed when I reached 3000 hits though. Madness!

LiumD – Thanks for that, a really valid point. I hope Batman's proposition was heavy enough.

FF8cerberus – I've trying to make his reactions as realistic as possible. First off, people are afraid to face what is painful to them and in Beastboy's case it's safer and easier to put on a mask to cover up the pain.  
As for Terra, those closest to you have the greatest potential to hurt you and when he was hurt, it broke through that mask he wears. I am going to be exploring more about what actually happened with Terra and his reaction to it.  
People don't like change and usually it takes extreme circumstances for them to face issues and change themselves. I haven't scratched the surface of Beastboy yet mate.  
As I said, I'm trying to take a fictional character and make him and his decisions human.

Alec33 – Me neither!

Mincymina – So it's my personal belief that no one ever came to this site for action or plot. They came for characters. I know I did. The characters and the interactions between them is the main focus of this entire thing for me. This isn't a romance story yet but it will end up there. As far as I'm concerned, the plot is there to facilitate the characters.  
I made an author's note a few chapters back concerning this. If you want to know what the end pairings will be, all you need to do is look at my list of favourite stories – you'll get your answer pretty quickly (and find fics far better than this one!). However, if you want to wait and go through the romance plot as it is written, you can do that instead. Thanks for reading!

Thanks for reading!  
Farewell,  
CJB


	13. Chaoz Fantasy

Chapter Thirteen: Chaoz Fantasy

Batman nodded approvingly.

"Good. Today you will settle into your quarters and familiarise yourself with the house and grounds."

"Oookay." Beastboy said, not realising they would start so soon. "You want me to just wander around?" He asked hopefully. Now that he had made a decision, his entire being had relaxed. Beastboy was not made for tense, life-changing moments in time. He preferred to go with the flow of the world around him. His release from the strained and difficult situation had him floating on air, only adding to the surreality of the situation. _'I can't believe this is actually happening.'_

A low grunt came from Batman, almost amused at the naivety of the boy in front of him. "I possess too little trust in you at this moment in time to let you wander alone. You will be accompanied."

"by…" Beastboy trailed off, secretly hoping it wasn't him.

"By her." Batman gestured with an upward head nod, motioning behind Beastboy.

Beastboy turned around and almost fell off his chair.

There, leaning against the kitchen countertop, one leg propped up underneath her against a cupboard, stood a girl.

Black and white converse were on her feet, below simple, loose dark blue jeans. She wore a black t-shirt with the yellow batman logo on the chest peeking out through her toned crossed arms. A simple wooden bead bracelet adorned one slim wrist. He finally reached an open and honest, faintly Asian face surround by collar length, thick black hair that somehow managed to be spiky. Large, chocolate brown eyes dominated her striking face, but delicately strong cheekbones, a thin mouth and small nose completed it.

Beastboy consciously closed his mouth and momentarily forgot about the Batman opposite him. The girl exuded an aura of confidence and assurance, but also a sort of accessibility that he couldn't quite identify the source of.

"Eh, hi." Said Beastboy in a small voice as he rose, not taking his eyes of the girl and stood opposite her. The sharp mahogany eyes were the only things moving as they took in every contraction, relaxation, twitch and movement of his body, all while examining his emerald eyes.

"Hi." She simply replied, mouth barely moving.

There was a pregnant pause as they stood facing each other.

Beastboy felt supremely uncomfortable. He was well aware that this was the girl responsible for, in all likelihood, saving his life. And as thanks, he had gone berserk and attacked her. Unable to bear the tension any longer, Beastboy opened his mouth to speak, but Batgirl got there first.

"No apology. Batman already say sorry for you. It alright, I forgive."

Beastboy's mouth hung open, before he again deliberately closed his mouth. "How did you know I was going to say sorry?" he asked in awe.

There was no notable change in her face as she pushed off from the cupboard.

"Come." She said, heading towards the door Beastboy had seen Batman leave through. He tripped over his chair in his haste to follow her. Halfway though, he turned around to thank Batman.

He was gone.

* * *

Ninety three hours.

He had been gone ninety three hours.

Raven effortlessly calculated the time after a glance at her bedside clock, an old fashioned circular one with two bells on the top that sounded like what she imagined a school bell to sound like. She rolled onto her back in the middle of her queen sized bed and wondered why she had made the calculation.

She had enjoyed the past two days. After finding out that Beastboy was fine and actually off on an almost enviable adventure to Gotham, she had spent her days remarkably carefree. She had meditated without fear of interruption. Read in the main living room without the possibility of being annoyed. Basked in the quiet mornings that were devoid of meat based arguments.

It had been relaxed.

It had been quiet.

Too quiet.

Raven groaned and wondered if that cliché had really just ran through her head. She couldn't deny the validity of the phrase, but still. No one had come to bother her. No one had come to try to draw her out of her room while she read or ask her to watch a movie with everyone.

She took a deep breath and shook her head. She was overreacting. So it had been a bit quiet, it was an unusual change. It made sense that it knocked her out of her stride, she who treasured the reassurance of routine and the tranquillity of repetition.

It wasn't like it was going to stay that way anyway. Best to enjoy it while she could.

During the past three days, the emergency siren had rang four times. The first two had been for a small time robbery that had been taken care of fairly easily and the third had been an easily apprehended joyrider. Quiet by the titan's standards, but everyone felt the gap left by Beastboy. This had been more acutely accentuated during the fourth alarm which had signalled a rampaging Overload downtown. Robin had quietly cursed under his breath as he glared at the computer.

The four had returned an hour later bearing multiple singes and a few electrical burns. The fight had taken place the outermost suburbs of Jump City, too far away from the city for any fire hydrants. Starfire had had to physically grab the artificial intelligence and fly to the ocean to throw him in. Her tough Tameraneon hands had stopped smoking but were still causing her a great deal of pain. Raven had healed her as best she could but had been drained from blocking most of Overloads attacks.

Beastboy had not been present to morph into an elephant.

Raven glanced at the clock and realised that it was time for Robins debriefing. She sighed at the pain in her right shoulder as she rolled off the bed and made her way to the living room. She discovered the other three bandaged and exhausted heroes collapsed on the sofa in front of the tv and sensed in them all stress, pain and an awareness of their missing member. Raven sat down and Robin decided that some reassurance for his team was needed.

"Alright guys, not going to lie – that sucked. Star, excellent job, I know that hurt but it was the only thing we could do." Starfire lit up at the rare praise, the pain in her hands forgotten. "It was bad luck for Overload to appear when we didn't have our super soaker around, but we shouldn't have to wait much longer for Batman to call."

"Correct," a gravelly voice.

Starfire gave an 'eep!" and involuntarily shot into the air in her fright. Cyborg yelled 'Woah!" and almost fell of the coach. Raven tensed and her hands instantly became shrouded in energy. Robin put away his bow staff had appeared almost like magic and sighed.

"How long you been waiting for that setup?" He asked the huge screen in front of him which bore the image of his former mentor.

"Approximately half a second." Batman replied stoically.

"Yeah right… so, where should we pick Beastboy up?" Robin asked eagerly. He had felt exposed with a missing team member and besides, he had missed the sprout. The team had felt incomplete without him.

"That has yet to be decided, but you won't be collecting him today."

"Please sir Batman, is our friend still injured?" Starfire spoke up, her worry of her friend's condition overcoming her trepidation at the imposing figure on the screen. She knew this man was Robin's Knorf-ka and was eager to make a good impression, but at the same time the man held an air of intimidation and power.

"Beastboy has made a full and remarkable recovery." Batman answered.

Robin's brow furrowed, it had been a long time since he had had to deal with the Dark Knight's roundabout way of talking. He had forgotten how much it annoyed him and didn't like what he could make out. Something was up.

"Explain." He said shortly.

"I have offered to help and train Beastboy and he has accepted my offer. He will be staying here indefinitely while I work with him."

An astonished silence filled the titan common room. Batman filled the void.

"I foresee his training taking no longer than a year, however due to the very nature of his him and his powers that is merely an estimate. In any case, I have already contacted several solo teen heroes interested in filling the temporary redundancy. I will send you the list and you can decide for yourself who you want to aide your team."

Raven eyes widened beneath her hood in paralytic shock. '_A year!?'_

Robin finally found his voice. His dark, violent voice. "Put Beastboy on," he spat at the screen.

Batman turned on the screen to look at him "No," he said simply before elaborating, "He has made his decision and you will not influence it. One of my conditions of training him was cutting off all communication with you and your team. He will train like a member of the batclan, focused entirely on the job at hand with no distractions. I will of course keep you updated on his condition, but that will be all."

Robin snapped.

"You can't do this!" Robin roared at the screen. "I can handle you hacking our files but I will not allow you to steal my team members!"

Batman face remained unchanged but for raised eyebrow. "_Your_ team members?" he asked.

Robins face around his mask was red with anger and embarrassment, "You know what I mean! This is unacceptable and I WILL NOT ALLOW IT!"

"You do not have that power," Batman's sharp retort cut in. "It was Beastboy's decision to make and he has made it. That is final. There was never any formalisation of your team, he is well within his rights to take any leave of absence."

"He's a titan! A part of this team! We need him!" Robin roared at his former mentor.

"Really? Because you made him out to more of a liability than a team member when we last talked." Batman responded voice tight and controlled yet carrying as much venom as Robin's.

Robin failed to notice the looks his present teammates were giving him, but fought to combat the argument.

"He has some problems, but we can address them ourselves. Beastboy's is a key player in this team and he can't just leave because he was overawed at the sight of the batmobile and liked the look of Batgirl!"

Later on that day, the titans would try to figure out how the dining table had been bent and warped into such intricate and strained shapes. None of them saw or noticed the black energy. None of them. For now all they could do was watch in a daze of astonishment as the former master and student continued their verbal fight.

Batman responded. "This has happened before and no action was taken then to prevent it from reoccurring and now the _'problems'_ he has have escalated and changed. You have no idea why Beastboy does what he does and as far as I can see, you have no desire to find out. I can help him and I will."

This was an outrage. This was ludicrous, preposterous. But worst of all it was _uncontrollable_. Robin thought he had escaped Batman and his manipulation and intervention years ago, but now here he was sticking his nose in and screwing up all he had accomplished in the past six years. _'Damn it Beastboy! Why the hell did you have to go mental?' _he cursed inwardly. Robin tried to find some logical argument through the red haze of anger

"We thought the issue was dealt with, he hasn't turned into the Beast for years. We helped him through it last time and we can do it again."

"Your idea of help last time was to physically restrain and interrogate him. I can do far better than threaten Beastboy with jail over something he had no recollection of. You and your team failed him." Batman's icy tone carried with it an air of disappointment.

Robin's temporarily tamed anger flared again at the Dark Knight thinly veiled insult. All reason left him, all he felt was old repressed emotion raging up inside.

"What the hell do you even want with him?" Robin screamed at the screen gesturing wildly, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

Batman considered him a moment before replying.

"The same thing I did for you. I'll be in touch." Then the screen went blank.

Robin stared at the screen for a moment below letting loose a scream of frustration and anger. He turned while drawing his bow staff in one fluid motion and struck one of the floor-to-ceiling windows with all his might. The reinforced glass cracked under his attack, a spider web of fissures suddenly appearing.

He turned, breathing heavily, to the remainder of his team. "Why the hell did none of you speak up?!" he demanded.

Suddenly Cyborg was in his face, brandishing a metallic finger at him. "Oh, _HELL NO_! You are _NOT _going to take this out on us! We have no idea what the heck just happened!" Robin narrowed his eyes at his fellow titan and pushed past him to pace the floor between the tv and sofa, teeth grinding together and brow furrowed in anger.

Raven had yet to move, eyes still wide. Starfire was having trouble comprehending the situation.

"No formal report was ever drawn up over the first Beast incident. How did he know the details over how we handled it?" Robin fumed to himself in a voice tight with emotion, hands still clenched tightly around his staff.

Cyborg turned to fully face the team leader, crossed his arms and held his head high as he spoke.

"You didn't make a report. But I did."

Robin stopped pacing. Slowly, he turned to face the titan, face like thunder. Cyborg knew there was no point in hiding it. Robin would comb through every file on the entire titan database in his zeal and eventually come across the document. No point in trying to hide it. He continued before Robin had a chance to respond.

"I recorded everything that happened in the med-bay after Beastboy's first transformation. Batman must have found it on my personal hard drive."

Robin let an uneven breath out through his teeth. Starfire watched the two square up with nervous eyes shifting between them and a hand over her mouth. Raven had snapped out of her stupor and was also regarding her fellow titans. Her attention had been caught at Cyborg's confession. The first Beast incident was one that she had never really understood, having been unconscious for a lot of it. She didn't know any of the details about what had happened in the med-bay, and she was curious and suspicious enough to focus through her still shocked emotions.

Robin's voice came, low and taught with barely contained stress, "My orders were to erase any and all evidence of that event."

Cyborg met his gaze evenly, "I know."

Robin broke, "Why did you not FOLLOW MY ORDERS!?" he bellowed.

"BECAUSE YOU WERE OUT OF LINE!"

The room fell silent with the immediate rebuttal.

No one had called out Robin in such a way since Red-X. Cyborg pressed on, knowing he was all in now.

"You handled the situation a downright _stupid_ way. And like an idiot I sat back and watched you lock him into a chair in direct sight of the very person he had just supposedly kidnapped! It was so out of character for you to act so damn illogically that I videoed the whole thing so I could try to figure out what the hell was wrong with you!"

'_Locked in?' _Raven thought in disbelief, emotion cracking through her mask of a visage.

"And you never told me about this? Never told me that there was _actual footage_ of a teen titan going on a rampage in the tower itself? You have any idea what would happen if that got out?! Our public image would be destroyed! Our credibility gone! No one would trust us, We'd be finished! That's why I gave the damn order in the first place!"

"I made sure no one would ever be able to find it. I have no idea how Batman was even able to access it but that's not what this is about! This is about whatever the hell your problem is with Beastboy!"

There it was. The gauntlet had been thrown. Robin narrowed his eyes at his second in command, filled his lungs and opened his mouth, but that was when a blast of emerald energy shot between him and Cyborg, blasting through the already damaged window

"You will stop the yelling now!"

Starfire's clear, strong voice rang out and Robin closed his mouth but kept his eyes on Cyborg. The sound of broken glass tinkling onto the floor filled the lull before Starfire continued. "We are all most distressed at friend Beastboy's situation. This is not the time to discuss past events!"

Robin regarded his team. Cyborg was still glaring at him, eyes narrowed. Starfire was clearly not going to tolerate a single word from either of them. And Raven looked…shell-shocked was the only word for it, though her eyes were fixed on him in a manner than he didn't like.

Turning on his heel, Robin passed through the sliding doors out of the common room.

They slid shut behind him.

* * *

Gotta say, hardest chapter so far to write. Not the opening with BB and Batgirl, but the revelation scene. Even now, I feel sorta' uncomfortable uploading it; something about the reactions of the titans just doesn't work for me but I don't think I can rewrite this chapter yet another time.  
Anyway, thoughts would be GREATLY appreciated.

Review Responses:  
Forsaken9 – Thanks man, I'll try!

EX3451 – I have actually spent a lot of time planning out this story. I know where I want it to go, all I need to do is write it now! Fantastic to know the effort has been worth it :)  
Ah, Alfred. I'm really looking forward to writing him, not entirely sure why but we'll see.  
Thanks, I'm happy with Batman's portrayal so far. I'll try to keep it up.  
Haha, MINDBLOW! :)

LiumD – I know it wasn't really much of an introduction between BB and Batgirl, but that should feature next chapter.

The Brod Road – I'm looking forward to exploring and developing the dynamic between BB and Batgirl, should be interesting to say the least, but we'll see.  
Beastboy will definitely be clashing with Batman, and hopefully lead to some good doses of humor. Have to wait and see! Thanks for reviewing and commenting.

FF8Cerberus – Yeah, I hope I can pull it off too! Hopefully your question was answered (to a degree) in this chapter.

Alec33 – You know what mate, I'm going to aim for somewhere directly between the two of those. Cheers!

Thettbiggestfan – This has mostly been plot development so far, but hopefully I'll be able to get into some serious character development soon.

Jesusfreak124 – The transformation Beastboy underwent when he broke out of the hospital was his 'Changeling form' the same one he had at the beginning of this story. Perhaps I should have made that clearer :L

Iamking – I'm glad you approve.

Dis-Appearing Writer – Thanks, I liked that scene as well :)

So yeah, not my most confident chapter. Any and all criticisms are welcome.  
Cheerio'  
CJB


	14. Hello

Chapter Fourteen: Hello

Beastboy quickly caught up to who he had rightly assumed was Batgirl as she was passing through the door out of the batcave.

"Eh, so hi! I guess we didn't really get the chance to introduce ourselves did we?" He asked slightly guilty. He almost ran into the back of her as she stopped suddenly and spun around.

"I'm Batgirl."

"I know," Beastboy said slightly breathlessly, before shaking his head. He was determined to right his wrong. "Look, Batman told me about what happened." She blinked at him, showing no other reaction. Beastboy stared at the girl in front of him, trying to get his thoughts together, before giving up and just speaking. "Thank you," he simply said, "I would probably be dead if wasn't for you. And I-I'm sorry I attacked you." He finished quietly, breaking eye contact and lowering his head.

Batgirl watched intently, working at deciphering his emotions. He was sad, depressed even. Shoulders slumped, feet close together and head down. There was no lying with your body, not unless you were a master of self-control. Seeing him so vulnerable, she was reminded of how peaceful he had looked laying on the hospital bed. There wasn't a hint of the beast that had attacked her without provocation in front of her. Just someone asking forgiveness for something they had no control over. His very body spoke of his guilt and shame.

Unsure of herself, but always one for learning through doing, she attempted to console him. "Listen." He glanced up at her, sorrow and despair in his eyes. She spoke strongly, "In the past now, live in present and look to future. Forgive you." She felt oddly happy as his eyes lit up and felt a strange twitching in her facial muscles.

"Thank you." He said quietly, watching a small smile work its way onto her face.

"Welcome." She replied and turned to go, still trying to figure out what was happening to her face.

Beastboy's mouth widened into a large grin and he bounded up next to her, "So, what's your real name? How long have you been Batgirl? How did you become Batgirl? You looked so awesome yesterday when…"

Batgirl was taken aback, having no idea how to respond to the deluge of questions. Instead she just unknowingly relaxed into another small smile and led the way up the stone passageway to Wayne Manor. When they finally reached a metallic door, Batgirl spun around put into practice a physical gesture she had learned was supposed to induce silence in another. Unfortunately, she had forgotten that one was meant to press their finger to one's own lips. Not another's.

"I wonder how-mmph!" Beastboy's eyes bugged out as a slim, strong finger pressed to his lips, shutting him up very effectively, her finger cool against his skin.

"Watch." Batgirl said simply. She removed her finger, not noticing how Beastboy's facial expression of sheer surprise didn't change at all and turned back to the door. Stepping forward, a second laser scanned her head and upper body, before the door clicked open. "Bio-information will be programmed into system. Will accept you from now on."

Beastboy shook his head quickly to dispel and didn't even try to wrap his head around what had just happened. "Sweet, got it,' he said, following her through the main door. They found themselves in a wide open living room area. Expensive wooden panelling coated the walls, a chandelier hung from the cream ceiling and the floor was richly carpeted. A fire crackled in in the hearth on the right side of the room, in front of which were several comfortable looking armchairs, footrests and a coffee table. Bookcases pressed against every wall, above them various artefacts, paintings and even ancient weapons hung on hooks. Beastboy had never seen such an opulent room that simply oozed wealth.

He heard a click behind him and turned to see Batgirl close the door to the batcave. Only it wasn't a door, but a traditional grandfather clock that swung back to cover the opening. "Secret entrance, watch." Batgirl said before opening the glass covering of the clock and arranging the hands to 10:48. Beastboy heard the clicking sound again and the huge wooden clock swung forward to reveal the concealed entrance once again. "Main entrance to batcave." Batgirl told him.

"Awesome." Beastboy breathed, eyes wide.

The next few hours were spent walking around the hug mansion. Batgirl showed him the kitchen, living room, ball room, lab, swimming pool, tennis court, sauna… the list went on and on and Beastboy was uncharacteristically quiet the whole time, still in a state of shock.

"This is where you sleep, once problem is sorted." Batgirl said, opening a door into a spacious but bare room. It contained a double bed, desk, wardrobe and ensuite. It was also cold and stale; obviously unlived in for some time.

Beastboy stood staring around the blank room and suddenly it hit him.

This was going to be his home. Indefinitely. He wasn't going to see his teammates, fight crime or relax with his family for some time. He was alone in a strange house with two masked vigilantes. He had no idea how long he was going to be there for, nor had he any control over what he was going to be doing. Beastboy suddenly felt a weight settle on his chest and wondered if he had made a mistake.

Batgirl was watching him. Slumped shoulders, eyes downcast, touching his shoulder and face, running a hand through his hair. Textbook signs of discomfort, sorrow and seeking comfort or reassurance. This was the first time she had been faced with a potential friend showing these behaviours. Thinking back she knew that in order to provide the reassurance and comfort Beastboy was seeking, physical contact was needed. Problem was, the only experience outside of hugging Alfred that Batgirl had had in physical contact involved hurting people.

Batgirl took a deep breath, pushed aside her inhibitions and nervousness and approached him. Lifting her hand, she placed it gently on Beastboy's shoulder, feeling his warm skin through the thin fabric of his shirt. She felt him tense in surprise before turning to look at her, emerald eyes somewhat dull. Now, she knew words of comfort and relaxation needed to be spoken. Here, she ran into a complete brick wall. Language was not natural to her, let alone relating to someone. Thinking quickly she postponed the need and instead simply asked. "Hungry?" She remembered to smile, knowing that it was a reassuring and positive facial expression and twisted her face in the appropriate way.

Beastboy stared at the strange girl with stunted language, clinical social skills and odd, strained expression and wondered. Who was she? Why was she so withdrawn? Where did she come from? Why was she the way that she was? How did she get here? The last time he had had so many questions concerning somebody was years ago when he had first met Raven.

Raven.

Beastboy felt an unexpected hollowness inside at the realisation that he wouldn't be seeing her again for some time. He wouldn't be seeing any of his friends, those who accepted him unconditionally and who he considered family for a long, long time. Then he looked up again at the undeniably interesting, not to mention attractive, teen in front of him. She didn't seem to have a problem with him being green. With his fangs or elfin ears. Heck, he had even attacked her with reason and here she was asking him if he was hungry.

Maybe she really didn't care. Batman hadn't seemed to have a problem with him. Maybe it was because they had seen weirder things before. Who knew? All he knew is that he was accepted to some degree here and the thought that others besides the titans could do that lightened his heart. Maybe this wasn't going to be that bad. Maybe he could make some new friends. Beastboy had always tried to make the best of situations and he intended to do the same now.

"I'm starving." He answered with a grin.

* * *

Batgirl led them down through the labyrinth of rooms and corridors while Beastboy feebly tried to remember the way. The mansion was a maze. Eventually, Batgirl opened a random door and they entered into the kitchen.

Compared to the rest of the house, which felt oddly dead and unlived in, the kitchen was alive and vibrant. Wooden worktops, a large oak table, utensils hanging from hooks above a modern stove all lit up by late afternoon sunlight streaming through pristine windows. Beastboy thought it would look more appropriate in an old farmer's home, albeit a very modern one. The enticing aromas of cooking food helped.

"Good afternoon Ms Cassandra, Master Beastboy."

Beastboy turned towards the English accent and saw a man standing wiping his hands on a cloth. The first thing that struck Beastboy was his impeccable clothing. Black leather shoes shone beneath perfectly pressed pinstriped trousers. A black waistcoat and tie contrasted with a crisp and clean white shirt, the sleeves of which were rolled up to the elbow. His face possessed an ageless quality, looking both wise and friendly at once. A receding silver hairline was the only clue Beastboy could find of his age. His eyes were bright and aware.

"Uh, hi there Mr…"

"Alfred Pennyworth at your service." The man replied, actually bowing slightly to the green teen. "I am Master Wayne's butler."

"Eh, pleased to meet you." Beastboy was uncomfortable. This immaculately dressed and well-spoken man was so socially superior to him.

"Likewise. I do apologise for my recent absence. Master Wayne felt it best that I left you alone to acclimatise to the Batcave on your own."

"No problem. It was for the best." He added in a dark undertone, remembering his Beast attack with a heavy heart.

Alfred pushed on, seeing the turn in his attitude, "I am pleased to see you have made a rapid recovery Master Beastboy, might you feel up to some dinner?

Beastboy was quickly pulled out of his negative thoughts and nodded enthusiastically, an eager look on his face, "Definitely, it smells awesome."

"I'm just about ready. Your timing is as impeccable as ever Ms Cassandra." He said with a warm smile.

Batgirl grinned widely and Beastboy was about to find out why.

He had never seen anyone eat so much food before, except maybe Cyborg. After the two had sat down at the well-worn table (Batman rarely joined them, Beastboy found out), Alfred had brought out dish after dish of steaming food, which she attacked ferociously. Beastboy simply sat and stared at the ravenous girl in quiet awe as she heaped food upon multiple plates before he heard a voice address him.

"I believe you are a vegetarian Master Beastboy. Correct?"

Beastboy turned to see the Englishman holding a steaming dish in one gloved hand and a spatula in the other. His nose twitched at the delicious smell coming from it.

"Yeah, I don't eat meat and you can just call me Beastboy." he replied.

"Indeed I could Master Beastboy. Ratatouille?" Alfred offered with a smile.

Beastboy gave a weak smile. Being treated like royalty didn't suit him well. There was far too much pressure to do the right thing involved, no screwing up allowed. Should he insist he just call him by his name? Was that the socially correct thing to do? _'Oh God, I'm going to screw this up straight away. And what the heck did he say at the end there? It sounded like he was swearing or something! What do I do?' _His time with the Doom Patrol hadn't exactly been spent teaching him manners and living with four other unsupervised teenagers hadn't really prepared him for this. He could feel the sweat forming on the palms of his clenched hands.

Alfred, not a fool, saw the signs of discomfort and gave a small, polite cough. Beastboy's eyes leapt to his and his mouth opened for what was inevitably going to be an apology of some sort. Alfred subtly tilted his head across the table and Beastboy followed his cue, confused.

Then he saw Batgirl.

Beastboy had always thought Starfire was the messiest eater he had ever seen, her alien strength, cultural background and practically sentient food meant dinner times at the tower were spent carefully avoiding looking in her general direction. Appetites were frequently lost. No one had ever came close to eating like she did.

Until Batgirl.

The pretty, slender girl was literally shovelling food into her mouth. Bizarrely using a large spoon and a pair of chopsticks she ate with the intensity concentration of a professional chess player. Beastboy watched as she swallowed an enormous mouthful of mashed potatoes, steak and omelette then noticed him looking. She gave him a large grin, which he returned, before returning her focus to the plates in front of her.

Beastboy looked back at Alfred, smile in place and stomach growling. The butler's eyes twinkled as he offered the dish again, "Would you care for some Ratatouille?"

"Uh, bless you?" Beastboy joked.

"I'll take that as a yes." Alfred smiled and ladled some of the French dish onto Beastboy's plate as he lectured him. "Ratatouille is a traditional vegetable dish that originated in modern day Nice. It consists mainly of tomatoes, onions, garlic and peppers, although I have my own personal recipe."

"It's awesome!" Beastboy managed to choke out around a mouthful of the stuff. He swallowed. "In fact, I think it's better than tofu! Man, never thought I would say that."

''Ah yes, the 2000 year old Chinese bean curd. I had some myself made fresh before my eyes many years ago in the city of Chengdu." Alfred continued talking as he served more dishes, smooth voice washing around the room. "The process of coagulating soy milk is really quite ingenious and goes all the way back to the Han Dynasty supposedly, where the product was spread throughout Asia with the Buddhist religion as tofu fitted the vegetarian diet of the followers as it is high in both protein and iron – difficult to come across in a no meat diet."

Beastboy stared at the man with a rather stupid look on his face and an unhinged jaw. "It tastes good." He simply stated.

A chuckle came from across the table and Beastboy turned to see Batgirl taking a break from her feast.

"Alfred know everything." She said sending a grin at him, eliciting a somewhat warm feeling in his stomach that had nothing to do with food.

"Come now Ms Cassandra, I'm sure there are some areas in the field of advanced theoretical mathematics with which I am unfamiliar," Said Alfred, winking at Beastboy as he sat down between the two teenagers.

Beastboy laughed around a mouthful of roasted carrots and broccoli and heartily dug into all kinds of vegetarian cuisine he had never even heard of before. A question soon occurred to him.

"How did you know I was a vegetarian?" He asked Alfred.

The manservant dabbed at his lips with a pristine white napkin before answering. "Master Wayne was most anxious to complete as comprehensive and detailed a report on both your professional and personal life as possible. I volunteered to undertake the task."

Beastboy blinked. "Sorry, what?"

An almost imperceptible frown appeared on Alfred's forehead, _'Apparently I will have to educate him on more than just fine dining,' _he thought."I researched you."

"Oh. Eh, why?"

It was Alfred's turn to blink. "I do not think you entirely grasp the situation you are currently in my boy. It is not an everyday occurrence that a hero finds themselves not only in the infamous batcave, but in possession of the knowledge of whom it belongs to. The protection of such information is of the highest importance and anyone who attains said intelligence is first and foremost considered a threat. By informally asking you to join the batclan, Master Wayne has extended a privilege to you that not many have received in hopes that you will prove worthy of this secret. But with this honour comes cost. Your life will be laid bare before him."

Beastboy fought down a shiver of fear. He hadn't considered all of that. He really was in a messed up situation and if he didn't play his cards right, things could get very nasty very quickly. _'No. I won't screw this up. I'll do whatever I have to to get rid of that side of me. I can do it.'_

He looked up, eyes clear and unusually serious, "I understand. I'll do whatever it takes to get better."

Alfred nodded solemnly as smiled inwardly. _'It's little wonder that Master Grayson has succeeded so much in his heroic endeavours. His team is truly admirable. Which reminds me...'_

"Tell me Beastboy, how is Robin these days?"

Beastboy looked over at Alfred. It had slipped his mind that Robin had once lived and worked here. He didn't understand why Alfred seemed almost nervous, though.

"Eh, fine I guess. Training, working, eating, sleeping, all he's ever seemed to do. It's what makes him so Robiney. Well, that and trying not to blush every time Star comes onto him." Beastboy added with a laugh, remembering the countless awkward pauses and stammers.

"Oh, he has a 'special friend' then?" This was the first Alfred had heard of Robin's wellbeing in years other than gossip magazines and internet articles and it wasn't what he was hoping for. This potential relationship could be a good sign, however.

Beastboy burped. "Excuse me," He said, pleased that he had remembered his manners and opened his mouth to reply.

That was when an almighty belch came from the other side of the table. Beastboy actually felt his hair ruffle from the force. He stared in awe at the small girl before grinning in wonder.

Beastboy took a toothpick for himself and turned back to Alfred, grin in place. He was starting to feel relaxed and at ease. Having a full stomach helped. "Not officially,' he said, answering Alfred's question, "And if you ask me they never will get to that stage. Star hasn't exactly been discrete about her, eh….feelings over the years. I have no idea why he hasn't gotten with her yet. I mean have you seen Starfire? Don't know what's wrong with the Birdbrain."

'_I do.'_ Alfred reflected sadly, his fears confirmed. He mentally shook himself.

"Well, best to be off to bed now. You have a long day ahead of you tomorrow and you'll need your rest. I've taken the liberty of making Cell B a little more homely."

Beastboy felt a thrill of nervousness and excitement course through him, eager for the day Cell B would no longer be necessary.

Tomorrow he started training with the Batman.

* * *

And that's the end of that chapter!  
Had a mini heart attack a few hours ago when I thought my computer had deleted all my progress on this chapter. Scared the hell out of me.  
Anyway, I really enjoyed writing this chapter. Not having much experience of Alfred, I'm basing him off of a character called 'Jeeves,' the butler from P.G Wodehouse's 'Jeeves and Wooster.' Type that into youtube to see the tv show, where he is portrayed by Stephen Fry. Excellent stuff.  
Let me know if you think it worked. Let me know if you think it didn't. Praise and criticism are alike appreciated!

Review Responses:  
EX3451 – I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter, that is the main goal after all. It was difficult but I'll take 'believable,' that's definitely a good thing. I am very happy with your opinion on Robin, that's what I'm going for – him toeing the line between reasonable concern and over the top paranoia. And yes, comeuppance will be featured.  
As for your second question, I'm going for a little of both. There are events in both Beastboy's and the titan's situations that I want to cover during the time period, so probably a month by month thing. Or something like that anyway.

LiumD – There are indeed storms on the horizon, though you have no idea what :)  
Confrontational? That's a fair comment. Though in my defense, it was a confrontation.

Shugokage – Thank you! Much appreciated.

Mincymina – I'm glad you liked it. Robin's reaction was based on a few factors. First off, he's losing a member of his team. Second, batman is butting into his business again and he doesn't have any control of the situation. I think that would be enough to set him off like he did. We'll be back to the titans soon! Thanks for reading.

A Certified BAMF – First off, great name. If you want to know the answer to that question, all you need to do is look at my list of favourite fics. You'll get your answer.

Forsaken9 – Better and better is a good pattern!

ravanginghunter – Success then!

FF8Cerberus – I'm not so sure it's suppression as opposed to discovery. This shall be explored, fear not! It won't be a straight up time skip. Events will be covered with small time skips in between. Thanks for reading.

Thanks for stopping by, any and all reviews are appreciated. Suggestions and ideas will be considered. Especially with regards to Cyborg. He's an interesting character, but I'm not sure where to go with him during this, Any ideas? And how did you like this chapter?  
Sayonara!  
CJB


	15. Bleeding Out

Chapter fifteen: Bleeding Out

A light but demanding knock sounded on Cyborg's door.

He sat still for a moment before letting out a sigh and reluctantly rising from his bedroom worktable. He had been expecting this and wasn't exactly looking forward to it. Drawing in a bracing breath, he walked over to the door and activated it. The steel panel had barely slid open when a dark blue cloak whisked by him into the room.

He slowly reactivated the door and watched it slide into place with a gentle hiss. Only then did he turn to see Raven standing in the centre of his large room, hood up, arms crossed. Icy words sliced through the air like knives.

"What happened?"

Cyborg sighed again, implants humming softly, running low on power at the end of a long day. He knew there was no way out of this, though. No way he could even put it off. While Raven was vocal in her distaste for her changeling teammate, everyone knew that she cared as much about him as any other member of the team. She was fiercely protective when it came to her friends and Cyborg knew she wouldn't stop until she knew exactly what had happened with Beastboy that day.

"It'll be easiest if I just show you. But first, we have to talk."

He thought he could see an eyebrow twitch in the darkness of the hood, but he couldn't be sure. Not without activating his night-vision mode to penetrate the darkness of her hood and he had a sneaking suspicion Raven would not react to that favourably. Without a word, she turned, walked over to a solid sofa along one side of the wall and sat down stiffly.

Cyborg remained standing and started abruptly, _'Best to get this over with.'_

"When the whole thing was over, you told us that you were attacked by Adonis in the tower and kidnapped by him. Then BB caught up to you both in his Beast form and during his fight with Adonis over you, you were knocked unconscious. Next thing you know, you're waking up in a wrecked med-bay with Starfire, right?"

Raven nodded and tried to keep back a shudder with partial success. Adonis had taken her completely by surprise. If Beastboy hadn't chased after them, who knows what would have happened? "I did regain consciousness briefly during their fight, but the effort of healing myself made me pass out again."

Cyborg nodded at the correction and continued."Now, I want you to try to imagine how things looked to us. BB had been a carnivorous, alpha male jerk for two days straight and had tried to start a fight with you for no reason. That night, we heard you scream and discovered both you and BB missing with his room practically destroyed. What conclusion would you have drawn?"

Raven remained quiet, making his question a rhetorical one.

"Furthermore, after we track the two of you down, we find you in some green monster's teeth down in the sewers and when we finally manage to take it down – damn near impossible by the way – it turns into Beastboy. It was immediately after that that this footage took place, okay? Keep that in mind."

Raven nodded once, not sure what to expect.

Cyborg turned to his room television, usually used to display all sorts of mathematical algorithms and limb subroutines and turned it on. He accessed the file and bought it up, hesitating briefly before pressing play.

Raven watched the screen. The video had been taken with Cyborgs robotic eye and so it was filmed first person. It started abruptly, depicting a wide angle shot of a computer screen with bars and statistics on it. The view swung around and Raven saw herself hovering above a medical bed, hair hanging down onto the pillow and without her cloak off.

"She's alive, but she's in some kind of trance." Cyborg's factual voice came out over the speakers.

"She's healing herself." Robin's taught tone came next.

Then a voice filled with fear and emotion came, "And you're telling me _I_ did that to her? That's impossible." The camera turned and the speaker was revealed. Raven stifled a gasp.

Beastboy was sitting in an iron chair, looking like he had just fought Trigon himself. He had on a clean uniform, but that didn't hide the mess that was his body. Hair caked with dirt, face a mass of bruises, cuts and scorches, he looked worse than what she had seen back in the forest. Raven's fingers unconsciously tightened into fists as the video paused.

She turned to Cyborg, who looked guilty. "We had to go all out to stop him. The contusions are from my sonic cannon, the burns from Starfire's starbolts and the lacerations from Robin's bombs." He saw Raven open her mouth and looked down, anticipating her question, "Robin wanted to find out what had happened before we treated him."

It may have been his imagination or it may not have, but the air temperature seemed to drop a good dozen degrees as Raven's form tightened. She spoke, voice actively straining to remain flat.

"Continue."

Robin's voice came on as Cyborg restarted the video.

"We found you with her."

"No, I wouldn't. I mean we had a fight but I would never…" His voice trembled.

"She was in your teeth." Starfire's meek tone sounded.

"That's a lie!" Beastboy's entire countenance changed, pain seemingly forgotten as he strained to get out of the chair. _'Wait, what?'_

The view panned out as Cyborg took a step back revealing more of Beastboy. Raven's eyes widened as she saw the heavy restraints clamping his wrists and ankles to the chair and felt emotion rise in her chest. This was the boy who had just saved her from death… and possibly worse! And here he was shackled up by his own team like a criminal! She felt the beginnings of power start to leak from her fingertips and remembered Cyborg's talk beforehand. She consciously restrained her emotions, years of practise oddly not helping much.

'_Besides,'_ she thought, brow furrowing at the sight on the screen before her, _'he really looks like he's lost it.'_

Robin entered the frame, standing tall next to Beastboy. "I'm going to ask you to keep your voice down." He said slowly, brow furrowed.

Raven watched as Beastboy clenched the arms of chair in his aggression, looking like he wanted nothing more to pounce on his leader.

Then the grip suddenly relaxed and his face turned from angry aggression to shock, confusion and fear. Raven felt her heart stir, _'He looks like how I felt after almost sending Dr. Light insane. Oh, Beastboy…'_

"What… What's happing to me?" He stammered on the screen, looking downright afraid.

The camera revolved back to look at the computer screen and Cyborg's voice came from off camera.

"I'm picking of high amounts of testosterone and adrenaline from the sample I took from the chemical spill. I think it's in your body."

"The chemicals at the lab?" Robin asked.

"Because of the shapeshifting, his genetic code was always unstable. Maybe the high doses of foreign hormones are causing it to just finally…fall apart." The camera shifted back around to Beastboy, his wide eyes fixed on something off screen.

"Raven. She's going to be alright isn't she? I mean, she's not moving. What have I done?" The cracking voce of Beastboy came, filled with self-disgust and fear floated out from the screen.

Raven felt like her insides were freezing and melting at the same time. Here was Beastboy, chained to a chair after saving her from untold horrors being told that his body was possibly going to give out on him soon and all he cared about was whether she was going to be alright or not.

She struggled to keep her emotions in check, not managing to contain an uneven breath from escaping her, which she knew Cyborg would notice.

Robin's emotionless voice came on, "You have to tell me what happened."

The camera panned over to him and Beastboy slowly as if it didn't want to get caught.

Beastboy's forehead furrowed like he had a bad headache and his anguish turned into frustration "I told you, I don't remember. Any of It. We had that argument, I went to my room, I was angry and then…nothing! …Claws…a scream… nothing!"

An irritated Robin responded, "Claws and a scream isn't nothing. What else?" he demanded.

"That's all," Beastboy said, sounding defeated.

Raven watched as Robin knelt next to him, staring the whole time. "No, it isn't. You have to focus."

"I am." Beastboy said clearly exasperated.

Robin pushed his face closer to the green titan's. "You have to remember." His voice taught.

"I'm trying!"

"Try harder! If you can't tell me what happened I have to assume the worst. I have to put you in jail!"

Raven stared at the screen in outright disbelief as sweat gathered on Beastboy's brow, face furrowed in emotion. _'What the hell is he doing? Batman was right. He's interrogating Beastboy like a criminal; he can't threaten him with jail! Even if it looks suspicious, there's nothing but circumstantial evidence to go on and Beastboy clearly has no idea what's happened! Robin's out of his mind!'_

Cyborg looked away from the monitor over at Raven. This was the part he was worried about, and it looked like he was right. Raven was tensed, eyes boring into the screen and hands in clenched fists. It had been a long time since he had seen her display that amount of emotion.

On the screen, Robin kept on, "You need to remember!"

"I'M CAN'T! UHAAGGHH!"

That was it. Beastboy had finally been pushed too far. The camera swung around as computers started bleeping madly and the heart rate monitor started growing quicker and quicker.

"Beastboy!" The camera angle turned back around at Starfire's panicked cry and she started for her friend.

Robin took a step back from the straining and pained Beastboy and held up a hand, stopping her approach.

"No!" He said.

Raven watched his face on the screen. She rarely relied on facial expressions and body language to read people as she was constantly exposed to the swell of their emotions. That being impossible in this case she examined Robin with narrowed eyes. He seemed oddly intent on Beastboy, watching his every move as he thrashed against his restraints. _'What is he doing?'_ She thought angrily.

Beastboy fought to get words out, voice coming out deeper than she had ever heard, yet still laced with fear and pain, "Get away from me!" he struggled.

His heart rate kept increasing and the computer kept on giving out countless cautions and warnings. Starfire's voice sounded again, "What is-"

She was interrupted by a tearing sound as Beastboy started to slowly morph, enlarged body ripping his uniform. Dark green fur sprouted over all over his exposed flesh and his face extended to form a snout that kept releasing a strangled yell that gradually became more of a roar. With an inhuman roar he stood up, shattering the restraints and the chair itself with ease.

Raven stared at the monster. This was worse than his Changeling form. Far worse.

Not a shred of the boy she knew remained. In his place was nothing more than an animal. A ferocious, terrifying beast. There was a moment of silence on the screen as nobody moved. The Beast examined the room closely before taking off with incredible speed.

The camera moved as Cyborg moved in front of the charging creature. There was a crash and the image on the screen rocked wildly before blinking out.

Cyborg kept his gaze on Raven. He had already watched the thing dozens of times and he didn't need to see his own failure to intervene again.

Raven stared blankly at the screen.

It promptly exploded with a burst of onyx energy.

"I need to meditate." She said quickly and lifted her arms to teleport.

"Come talk to me before you go see Robin!" Cyborg yelled worriedly.

Raven didn't respond, instead disappearing in an unusual flash of energy. Unfortunately it shredded the coach into countless small pieces.

Cyborg examined the room carefully, as if expecting something else to spontaneously combust, before sighing in relief.

"Could have been worse."

* * *

Moonbeams struggled down through an unusually heavy cloud cover, illuminating the scene. A pitch black sea hungrily washed up on the sandy shore, compelled by a strong eastern wind. Along the other side of the narrow strand was a 150 foot sheer cliff face offering no way up or down except to the most experienced of rock climbers. In fact, near the bottom it looked like several dynamite blasts had been set off, creating near caverns in the otherwise smooth rock, making any ascent or descent nearly impossible for even the most experienced climber.

Scattered around the small, rather dirty beach, some resting on top of the sand and some so buried they were barely visible, were chunks of rock. Ranging from the size of small cars to mere pebbles, they littered the place. No animals moved or sounded. No plants swayed in the evening wind. The place was dead and deserted as it always was regardless of the weather or time of day.

Raven felt her feet crunch down onto soft ground as her portal deposited her somewhat roughly on the beach. The black energy folded in on itself, eventually disappearing completely. She straightened up and looked around; confirming that she was in the right place and no one was near.

Raven let out a breath and turned to the sea then looked up at the moon. A few nights ago, it had been a true half-moon, like a dinner plate sliced in half. Now though, it was smaller. And it would continue to get smaller until it completed its waning cycle and disappeared completely, like it had never existed.

Clenching her eyes, Raven turned her head down, other senses focusing. Salt filled her nose and rested on her lips and tongue. Soft, eerie whispers of water on sand found her ears. Dryness coated her fingertips.

She was stalling.

Reluctantly, Raven opened her eyes and drew in a deep breath of salty sea air. Focusing, she turned the internal key and let it out.

And her lifeless surroundings came alive.

Huge ropes and sheets of darkest black energy exploded around the half-demon. The whipping energy had no pattern or direction in its violent movement. It simply existed, thrashing around Raven like it was fighting an invisible force field around her. Stray tendrils tore through into the base of the cliff, breaking and lifting huge hunks of rock into the swirling mess of ferocity and aggression. Gusts of wind ripped into the sand, forcing an artificial sandstorm into life.

Lashes of onyx fringed with a glowing white ripped into the dark water. Huge eruptions of liquid joined the rocks and sand, attacking each other in a tornado of elements, as if trying to prove which could survive the longest. Sharp cracks sounded over the rushing wind as solid rock split from the sheer power reverberating through the chaotic air laying waste to the environment in a flurry of pain and anguish. Everywhere was viciousness and clashing. Destruction and devastation. Wreckage and obliteration.

Except at the very centre of it all.

Standing inside of the thunderous tornado of chaos stood a girl, for whom time and space had appeared to grind to an absolute halt. She didn't see the maelstrom of pandemonium churning around her. She didn't hear the shrieking of synthetic wind or the agonised cracking of rock.

She felt it though.

Raven didn't often allow herself to feel, for a number of reasons. The danger was one very big factor. Even now as her powers tore into the earth around her, scarring it, she kept an upper limit to the amount of energy she was releasing. It wouldn't do for her to let loose _compeletely. _

But sometimes, she just needed to feel.

Raven struggled to cope with the influx of emotion welling within her, like an unleased tidal wave set free from the imprisonment of the ocean. Some small part of her felt her powers pulse and beat with the rise and fall of emotion within, but for the most part she focused on her internal landscape. Struggling with the inherently foreign sensation of feeling, Raven sought to separate the mass of sentiment into something she could distinguish. Her brow creased and her eyes tightened as she fought against any physical reaction to the internal battlefield.

However, it wasn't long before she was struck down and gave in. Tears forced themselves into her eyes and small rivulets started making their way down her cheeks. Sobs started wracking her body and eventually her legs gave out beneath her. Falling to her knees, Raven brought her hands to her eyes.

And wept.

The tears carried with them all of the emotion from the recent events Raven had kept bottled up inside. She saw the times she had repressed her feelings flash through her mind.

When Beastboy had been convinced Terra had come back to life and unidentifiable emotion had welled up inside.

When Beastboy had appeared in his Changeling form, his animal side showing through and shock, awe and concern made itself known within.

When she had thought that the white monster had killed Beastboy due to her own intervention and terror, guilt and disbelief had raged in her heart.

When she had seen the injuries Beastboy had sustained in fighting the monster and felt an invasion of fear and pain rise up in her gut.

When Beastboy had turned and roared directly in her face, eliciting the largest emotional response in her since Trigon's return.

When she lost control shortly after and hastily cut off her emotions, forcing them down.

When Beastboy hadn't returned and anxiety and dread had burdened her.

When Batman said he was alive and healing and relief, happiness and peace had washed over her soul.

When he had announced that Beastboy would not be returning and trepidation, grief and shock overwhelmed her.

When Cyborg played the tape and the final emotional straw was laid on her back. A beaten up Beastboy. An announcement that his life was in danger. His disregard of the fact in favour of her health. The sight of him in such physical and emotional pain. His transformation into the Beast. The resulting rising up of emotion within her. The trauma, the strain, the stress, the pressure, the heaviness and the tension.

All of it flowed out of her with her tears.

Time passed. The demonically powered mayhem continued to rage against the landscape and Raven continued to remain oblivious to it. She was too lost in the bittersweet experience of emotion. As her eyes started to dry and her breathing started to slow, Raven dropped her hands from her face, took a breath and slowly pushed herself to her feet again.

A rare curse dropped from her full lips.

'_Azar, I hate being weak. I hate being defenceless. I hate not being in control.'_

Raven slowly opened her eyes and observed, as if in slow motion, the chaos surrounding her with nearly uninterested eyes. Looking through the sweeping black energy, she found the light of the moon streaming weakly through slow gaps in the black and white storm. She closed her eyes again and drew a deep breath through her nose, seeking not to bury her emotions, but merely to calm them.

The already weakening storm slowed and waned around her. Larger chunks of rock fell from to the earth, burying themselves in the torn up sand. Another deep breath and the ropes and sheets of concretized emotion shrunk down and started flowing around her, losing their violent whipping motion.

Raven drew another breath, feeling the familiar deadening sensation that usually followed such an outpouring of emotion. Two minutes later and only faint wisps of white fringed energy floated around her, almost invisible in the night time darkness.

Feeling exhausted and in need of sleep, Raven turned her gaze inwards and once again twisted the metaphorical key to her heart. The remaining energy around her died out as her now subdued emotions were again imprisoned within her.

A moment passed.

Raven lifted a hand to her face and touched a finger to the dried tear track on her right cheek. Her eyes found the moon again. One thought flashed through her mind before she opened a portal to her bedroom and stepped through.

'It's brighter than before.'

* * *

So that's a chapter.

Another difficult one to write. It was the whole Raven scene at the end that threw me for a loop. I wanted to try something new, to put my own twist on Raven and her relationship with her powers and emotions. I hope I described the event well enough, It will be described and examined later, so don't worry if you don't quite understand what the hell happened

Review Responses:  
FF8cerberus – Appreciated as always :)

Shugokage – Yeah, I'm looking forward to developing him. Should be a fun challenge.

LiumD – Excellent, I'm glad you approve.

EX3451 – I know where I'm planning on taking their, the problem is getting there! And everyone loves a bit of drama :) I'm glad Alfred works, I liked how I did him, wasn't sure if anyone else would.

The Brod Road – Thanks, I'm glad you like BB and BG so far. Yeah, bit soon for any romantic tension or stress, need to develop the characters and their relationships a bit more first. Haha, read it however you want to, the magic of the written word!  
For Cyborg, you're right. His reaction to BB's absence will be explored. That's not a bad idea, I might try to incorporate something like that into future chapters. Unfortunately, this is going to be one of those fics that sorta' sidelines him so anything I can do to get him more screentime and add to the plot or characters is definitely good.  
Thanks for your input, much appreciated.

BartWLewis – Dude, it is awesome that such an author and enthusiast like yourself thinks so highly of this. Really means a lot. No, he will not become a Robin, in any sense. Thanks for the input!

Haebris – That could actually work to some degree. Cause a bit of chaos around the tower? Sounds fun :)

Thanks for reading guys and any and all reviews are appreciated and loved!  
You guys rock,  
Adios amigos!  
CJB


	16. Ease My Mind

Shoutout to EX3451 and The Brod Road for pointing out the lack of Starfire and Cyborg response. This chapter is here because of them.

Chapter 16: Ease My Mind

It was easily the most cheerful room in Titan tower.

The walls were painted a light, warm shade of purple which seemed to glow during the daylight hours when the large windows would feed a seemingly endless stream of sunshine into the room. Sitting dominantly in the exact center of the space was a very large, very pink circular bed lacking any pillows or blankets. A large pink dresser loaded down with all sorts of girly accessories was pressed against one wall. Surrounding it were a wide variety of posters featuring kittens, a replica of the 'Mona Lisa,' an underground railway map of London and a single huge canvas splashed with all manner of neon colors – courtesy of a past attempt at art. A stack of glossy magazines tottered in one corner next to a pink television stand beside a full length mirror. Everything was bright and joyful and light.

Except the sobbing girl flung out over the bed, wallowing in the semi-darkness.

It had been three hours since Starfire had intervened between Robin and Cyborg. Three hours since she had run from the room shortly afterwards to where she currently was. Three hours of crying out her emotions and wondering how everything had gotten so messed up.

Starfire hated any sort of conflict in her titan family. Even Beastboy and Cyborg's daily bantering breakfast battles set her on edge. The situation with Beastboy and the subsequent confrontation after batman's call had thus disturbed her deeply.

Coming from a culture literally built on conflict, Starfire had grown up fighting. She had trained rigorously every day in the art of warfare, both physical and tactical. She had trained her body to the point of exhaustion countless times and hardened her heart and soul as befitting a potential future Queen of Tamaran She had also endured countless family meals consisting of nothing but yelling competitions between her father and sister.

Always the more emotional one, Starfire had sat quietly by and watched the inner royalty fighting. And every time she did, she had felt the desire to stop it rise within her. And every time it had risen she had squashed it back down again. She had been a princess of Tamaran, brutal in her ability, tireless in her conflict, all powerful in her will to survive. There had been no room in her life for sentimentality or kindness.

Indeed kindness was unheard of to her in those days.

But then those days ended.

Starfire sniffed loudly as her mood lightened.

The worst thing to ever happen to her had turned into the best. Starfire had been convinced that she would never again see the light of a sun when the Gordanians lay claim to her. She had resigned herself to a fate of torture and worse at their hands. And though she took the news befitting that of a warlord on the outside, inwardly she had been terrified. That terror had eventually led to a desperate escape attempt that had miraculously succeeded.

And she had been introduced to kindness. To a real family. To love.

Starfire had formed bonds that transcended the very nature of her species. And loved it. She loved the acceptance that her teammates offered her. Loved that she had no need to prove herself or be anything other than just who and what she was. Loved that they loved her and that any one of them would place themselves in harm's way for her and each other, where a Tamaranian would put their own survival first.

To begin with, she had found the concept foolish._ Why endanger their lives for others? Why risk pain and loss to save an unknown stranger? _But gradually she had come to find the answer and understand that there was a difference between living and surviving.

She remembered watching an old Tamaranian chieftain fight his last battle. He had been renowned for his long life, revered for his putting off of friendships in favour of safety and admired for relying on no one but himself. Starfire vividly remembered him falling in a civil war battle. As a young princess being introduced to war, she had watched him look around as he breathed his last and saw no one at his side.

She likened it to an event that had occurred four weeks into the lifetime of the titans. Beastboy had become trapped protecting a small girl from falling rubble, getting himself trapped under it instead of her. While Starfire had valiantly continued to combat the aimlessly violent Plasmus, the rest of her team along with some bystanders had abandoned the fight to free the trapped titan. She turned from her battle and watched as ten people together lifted a large block of concrete, revealing a turtle with one crushed flipper.

She remembered wanting to be him for a moment. Wanting to endure the pain just to know what it felt like to be looked after, to be cared for. And in time she had. It was one of the things that attracted her to Robin. He had been the very first person she every met to show even a glimpse of kindness to.

They all had.

They all did.

Starfire let a small smile out before the image of Beastboy as Changeling roaring crashed back into her head. Tears fell with renewed vigour as she remembered the display of pain and agony her friend had displayed.

Batman's words floated through her mind, _'You and your team failed him…'_

That set off another round of sobbing and Starfire buried her face into the sheets of her bed, attempting to muffle the sound of her despair. _'Forgive me friend Beastboy, forgive us all.'_

She felt a light, cool touch on her back and whipped her head up. The sympathetic and concerned face of Cyborg looked back down at her.

"Oh, friend Cyborg I am much distressed!" Starfire threw her arms around him, heedless of the creaks and groans his metallic body gave off in response. She felt his arms move around her back and squeeze and cried the last of her tears into the strong body of her friend.

"Hey, it's all good Star. Everything's gonna turn out fine, just you watch," he spoke, trying to sound soothing but instead sounding like he was in considerable physical pain. Which he was.

Starfire withdrew from her killer embrace and looked at him with bloodshot eyes. "I fear everything is not 'gonna' to be the fine, friend Cyborg," She replied, wiping her eyes. "You and friend Robin are doing the fighting about friend Beastboy who has left us…" Impossibly, more tears rimmed her eyes.

Cyborg sighed to himself. He had just returned from giving Raven her private viewing of the Beast incident. He really wasn't in the mood to console anyone after that. But he knew Starfire desperately needed it and as usual he put his friend's needs before his own. He sat on her bed, thankful for his reinforcing it after two separate accidental dream demolitions it had suffered at the alien's hands, and patted next to him. She fell down onto the bed heavily beside him.

"I'm not going to lie Star, it's not a great situation. But we will get through it together. Robin and I just have an issue we need to sort out. We'll talk about it tomorrow and resolve it," Cyborg talked with the straightest face he could muster. He wasn't lying, but he wasn't being brutally honest either.

"Resolve it?" Starfire asked, looking confused.

"Yeah, we'll talk it out. Set things straight, ya' know? You were right to stop us today. Everybody was a bit emotional because of Batman's message." He winced as he saw Starfire's reaction.

"Oh Cyborg!" She exclaimed, throwing herself back into his arms, "Friend Beastboy displayed such pain and much anguish and now he has left us!"

Cyborg again wrapped his arms around the Tamaranian and wondered what to say. The truth was he wasn't exactly sure how he felt about Beastboy's… sabbatical of sorts. He had spent the time after the confrontation with Robin angrily pacing his room and then worrying about Raven coming after him for the video. He hadn't had much time to think about his friend's situation. He decided to just speak from the heart.

"Beastboy's tough Star, I wouldn't worry about him. He's stronger than he appears to be. Both inside and out. That said, I still can't really believe how he acted that night. I had no idea he had so much crap stored up within him. I mean, whenever he was the Beast it was like he was just an animal, there was none of my little brother then. But as the Changeling I could see him as himself. Just an angry, messed up version of the guy I know." Cyborg continued to ramble on, not so much talking to Star as to himself.

"It kinda' hurts I guess, knowing he had all that stuff inside and never told me about it. Never told any of us about it. I mean, I'm practically his brother and he's practically mine, how could I have not seen any of that. Am I really that blind?" He asked himself softly, eyes staring vacantly out the large window.

"I do not believe so," Star replied from his chest. "I do not think any of us saw what was inside him. Thinking now, there is very little about friend Beastboy that I know. Where did he come from, what did he do before the titan's formation? Oh, I am a terrible friend!" She again buried her face into Cyborg's torso.

He rubbed her back softly. "Not you're not Star. None of us really know much about him, but then none of us really talk to each other about our pasts much."

Starfire pulled out of his embrace and shook her head at him, "You are wrong friend Cyborg. You have shared with us all how you came to be how you are now. I have also shared my past with you all, though admittedly it out of need when the Gordanians returned to recapture me. Raven would have remained silent of her past and heritage but her entire life was laid bare for us to see. What you say is true of Robin, but he is bound to secrecy to protect the identity of the Batman, and he has told me some of his previous life in Gotham. The only person that we know nothing of is friend Beastboy, except that he was expelled from the Patrol of Doom."

Cyborg stared back at the alien. She was right.

He knew absolutely nothing about the green prankster. He had no idea why he was green, where he had gotten his powers from, how he had gotten into the Doom Patrol, what he had done before that, where he was born. Pasts were generally a no go topic in the tower, but that didn't hold up against Star's logic. They knew nothing about him.

"You're right Star. We don't know anything about him. But maybe that's just how he wants it."

"No!" Starfire exclaimed vehemently, eyes faintly glowing green in the gloom and muscles clenched. "I shall not allow him to continue to store up his pain and sorrow. He will speak of his agony, he shall reveal it all to us and never again will he take on the suffering of the Changeling!"

Cyborg stared. Starfire was as flighty in her emotions as they were powerful, so he was used to her rapid mood swings. However, he was still shocked and pleased at the depths of her care for the Green Bean. He smiled at the alien, whose energy seemed to drain out of her as a thought stuck in her mind.

"But we have realized too late, friend Cyborg," She stated as her whole body seemed to slump, "We did not help when our friend was in need. Indeed, we most likely worsened our friend's suffering." Her eyes widened and glistened to Cyborg's dismay. "The Batman was correct. We failed him." She tailed off into soft sobs and Cyborg felt his heart crack. He quickly drew her into another embrace. She continued on between gasps.

"It is no wonder friend Beastboy left after his transformation into the Changeling. He did not want to endure the same reaction we had the last of the times." She spoke dejectedly.

Cyborg started. He had never considered that. Did Beastboy still harbor feelings deep inside over the Beast incident. Anger, fear, pain? He knew Raven had talked to him and took him out of his funk following the incident but if the emotional torment Beastboy had displayed as Changeling was anything to go by, he was good at repressing negative emotion.

He sighed at himself_. 'Just another reason to despise that whole mess…damn.' _He addressed Starfire.

"Maybe or maybe not Star. One more thing we'll need to talk to him about when he gets back. At the end of the day, he made his decision. We should respect it. Besides, Batman said whatever they are doing would only take around a year."

Starfire's mind wandered through the words Batman had spoken earlier that day. It was somewhat hazy. She had had trouble following the course of the conversation and had simply latched onto the fact that Beastboy wasn't coming home. She focused on his words from earlier.

'…_Beastboy has made a full and remarkable recovery...'_

'… _will be staying here indefinitely…'_

'…_cutting off all communication…'_

'…_team failed him…'_

'…_I can do far better…'_

'… _can help him and I will…'_

Starfire's eyes widened and she leapt off of the bed in a sudden fit of energy. Words starting coming from her mouth extremely fast and she spun around the room.

"Friend Cyborg, friend Cyborg! All is right indeed! We may have not been able to help friend Beastboy but the Batman has promised to! It is as you have said, 'gonna turn out just fine' it has!"

Cyborg stared at the dancing Tameranian, spouting off sounds so fast, the computer half of his brain was convinced he was approaching mach2 in the T-Jet with the top down. Still, this was much better than a sobbing Starfire.

"Woah, woah Star! Came it down a second now, calm it down." Cyborg reached out and clamped his hands around her shoulders to stop her spinning before a mini cyclone formed.

"But friend Cyborg, I am the most happy and the relieved."

"Okaaay, I'm glad but do you mind explaining why."

"How do you not see it my friend? As Batman rightly said, we failed in helping friend Beastboy in his time of need. Batman, however approached our friend and pledged to help him in our place. And Beastboy accepted! I do not know much about our fellow superhuman Batman, but if Beastboy was willing to leave us for his help than I am positive that their training together will yield results. And then Beastboy will never again need to become the Changeling again! Haha!"

She renewed her twirling around the room, rejoicing in her newfound relief and guiltlessness.

Cyborg was once again silenced by the alien's beautifully simplistic views.

He had never once stopped to consider the situation from Beastboy's point of view. Now that Starfire had laid everything out for him, it all became so simple. Batman had grown decidedly colder at the mention of the Beast incident and how Robin and the titans had handled it. He had even gone so far as to chastise them over it, before saying he could and would do better than them. If anyone could help, it was him.

'_And how can I blame Beastboy for taking his offer? Star's right. He wouldn't even want to face us after how we treated him last time something like this happened. And then he wakes up to Batman offering to help and train him. He'd be mad NOT to accept.'_

He leapt up from the bed.

"You're absolutely right Star. This could be the best thing that ever happened to him. We should be happy for the Sprout! He's being trained by the frickin' Batman for crying out loud! It's the opportunity of a lifetime! This is…this is fantastic for him!"

"Oh I do so agree!" Starfire exclaimed, sweeping the metallic man up into a hovering hug without any discernible effort.

She stopped suddenly.

"Raven, I must go inform Raven of this revelation. Excuse me friend Cyborg." She whisked off straight through her door with a crash before Cyborg could stop her.

The eldest titan sighed heavily before sinking onto the bed again.

How could he have not seen it before? How could he have only seen the loss of HIS friend, his own problems with the situation? How could he have been so selfish as to not see the benefits for Beastboy?

'_Maybe it's stuff like this that led to him becoming Changeling in the first place. Do we, sort of… I dunno… take him for granted, maybe?'_

Cyborg physically shook his head.

It was late. And it had been a long, emotionally draining day. He knew he should go after Starfire but he couldn't muster the energy nor the desire. _'Besides, she's probably off at her 'secret' spot. Star'll never find her.'_

Cyborg rose to his feet and squared his shoulders.

Though he was happy with his new acceptance and peace with the situation, his argument with Robin was still fresh on his mind. It would be another long day tomorrow and he needed to sleep and recharge. No way was he going to let down his friend in the future.

Not anymore.

* * *

So, another changed up chapter.  
I like the relationship between Star and Cy and I don't think it's explored enough around here so I thought I'd through in a little brother sister moment as I progressed the inter-character relationships a bit. You like? Or a bit boring? Be honest now!

Review Responses:  
BartWLewis – Haha, I think at this point a lot of people are hoping for Robin face-punching :)

LiumD – Well you were right, the ride was not over. Not the other titans anyway. Still not over yet, but maybe not quite so emotional and more… explanatory.

Ravanginghunter – I'm looking forward to covering his training as well. There'll be some good opportunities for some fun :)

EX3451 – Reread this chapter like 3 times to make sure I didn't do a repeat of that last review :) You've made me paranoid, dammit! I CAN'T SLEEP!  
Yeah, I thought the video was a good way of communicating my version of the event while keeping it interesting, cheers.  
I'm not sure what you may be hinting at, but I was just trying to show that Raven releasing her emotions is good for her and that there is optimism in her somewhere. Did I disappoint? And what were you thinking. Who knows? I could integrate it in.

Shugokage – Arigatou gozaimasu!

The Brod Road – Half-demon horns is an excellent phrase! I may steal that from you in the future :)  
I'm glad you thought it was well done, I did too :) Raven will definitely not be letting it slide, but maybe not in the way you expect.  
At the moment, I establishing the situation at both scenes and building characterisation and relationships. When things came down and I hit some sort of a rhythm with the training, you'll find your Cyborg fun :)

Haebris – Alfred Pennyworth? A Yank?! Blasphemy! The good Alfred is and always will be a God-fearing Brit! God Save The Queen! :)

Annatheavidreader – You know what? I completely agree. This will be expanded on next chapter. Good to know someone else is on my wavelength :) I consider all opinions that are sent my way. I may not act on them all but the only reason this chapter exists in because of the people I name at the start. You guys tell me what you want and I will try to accommodate you as long as it fits into my vision for the story.  
Thank you for your input. Sincerely.

Mincymina – Live and learn sounds good to me. I do ask you! And then I thank you!

FF8Cerberus – I guess it was just all too much for her. Venting is healthy

Jesusfreak – It wouldn't have made a difference if he had, plus he wasn't exactly thinking clearly and he really didn't need to. The exact ages will be revealed in a couple of chapters, late-teens. And yes, this story is an exploration of the character of Beastboy, his past will definitely come into it.

Renton-torston - mira mi lista de fics favoritos. Ya verás qué tipo de emparejamiento habrá :)

So thanks for reading this chapter.  
As always any and all feedback is appreciated and loved. Say whatever the heck you want to. Go nuts.  
Jamata!  
CJB


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